


when the stars align

by seokxiu



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, M/M, Soonhoon - Freeform, i love college!au for some reason omg, youtuber!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-20 00:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9467225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seokxiu/pseuds/seokxiu
Summary: when andromeda meets shining diamonds.a dance!au / college!au based fic.





	1. Chapter 1

_ New from 10:10 Choreography: _

_ [DANCE COVER] BTS - Blood Sweat & T…  _

 

the first thing jihoon saw on his lock screen was the familiar notification from his favorite youtuber. his eyes widened, because today was a  _ wednesday _ ; hoshi only posts videos on fridays. jihoon inhales sharply, but fails to remember he was in the midst of swallowing down his soup. 

_ shit _ . 

he almost chokes, bursting out into a fit of coughs as seungcheol looked up at him from his own lunch with wide eyes, reaching over to smack his hand against the smaller male’s back a couple times. jihoon’s still coughing, though, yet this time while glaring at seungcheol as his eyes teared up, managing to reach over for his water bottle, downing the thing in just seconds. he clears his throat, hand reaching to wipe away at the tears that brimmed his eyes with his sleeve. 

“i was just trying to save your life, buddy.” seungcheol grumbled, turning away from the intimidating glare to stare at something more pleasant looking, like his kimchi fried rice. 

“yeah. lee jihoon chokes to death on his soup, while suffering from an unnecessary back ache caused by his supposed best friend.” jihoon snorted, voice strained from all the coughing as he rolled his eyes at the taller. his words held no malice, and seungcheol knew that. it was established the first day they met that jihoon was the type to act one way, yet do the complete opposite. he remembers the meeting fairly well, as though it was yesterday. it was when jihoon ‘accidentally’ kicked a soccer ball straight into seungcheol’s guts because he was a shitty goalkeeper. it wasn’t like seungcheol could argue with the  _ captain _ of the soccer team. however, soon after practice, jihoon strolled on by to make sure the other was alright, treating him out to dinner and offering to practice with each other occasionally. from there, a beautiful friendship blossomed. kind of. 

“what’s up?” seungcheol asked, ignoring the shorter’s commentary as he glanced down at the other’s phone. 

_ oh. _

jihoon quickly snatches his phone away, not fast enough though, because seungcheol has this shit eating grin on his face that makes jihoon want to kick a soccer ball straight to his face.

“oh, what was his name again? hoshi, huh?” seungcheol teases, scooping up a spoonful of rice as he practically shoves it into his mouth, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

“i don’t know what you’re talking about.” jihoon mutters, playing innocent as he shoves his phone into his pocket, eyes burning holes into his seaweed soup that his mother packed for him, because yes, it was his birthday today. 

jihoon tries to continue with his front, but seungcheol’s still wiggling his eyebrows with that teasing look on his face. 

“can’t you let me live on my birthday, please.” jihoon whines desperately, making a face as he went back to finishing up the meal his mother delicately prepared for him. he appreciated the effort greatly, his mother taking the time to travel from busan to seoul over the weekend with a bunch of packed meals for the week. 

“looks like my birthday gift can’t compare to having the almighty hoshi’s video being posted up, huh?” seungcheol comments, ignoring the other’s words because he has full intentions on teasing the other to no end.

jihoon lets out an exasperated sigh, losing his appetite faster than ever. his gaze turned to glare at seungcheol, only hoping the phrase ‘looks could kill’ would come to life right then and there. “yes, that’s right. is that what you wanted to hear?” jihoon retorted, pulling his phone back out as he stared at the notification.

seungcheol lets out a loud laugh, shaking his head as he just continues to eat. “whatever,

\--

jihoon’s interest in dancing and singing sparked his senior year of high school. jihoon spent the years prior participating in sports and only sports, never finding time to explore other interests he might have. from basketball, to tennis, to soccer, it was never ending. maybe it was due to the fact he was shorter than most guys around him, and he felt the need to prove his masculinity by participating in all these vigorous types of sports. whether it was a self-conscious insecurity or not, jihoon still found the sports enjoyable. however, it wasn’t until seungcheol’s boyfriend, jeonghan, who would occasionally stop by practice to watch the soccer team, mentioned about the music club he was a part of, did it peak jihoon’s interest ultimately. from singing, to composing, to writing lyrics all the way to dancing, they had it all. it was a small group, and wasn’t exactly a fully established club of the school, rather a group of friends who came together to do something they all have an interest in.

 

it was jihoon’s senior year of high school when he joined the music club, and when he discovered 10:10 choreography.

the sophomore named chan was a great dancer, even offered to teach him a few choreographies he learned from youtube. jihoon was excited, obliging willingly because it was all new to him and all so interesting. he felt awkward at first, noting the difference in the way he danced in comparison to chan, how stiff his limbs looked in comparison to the way chan practically glided perfectly into each step. but jihoon brushed the thought away, and worked to better himself each and every day he spent in the dance studio after school ended. from ditching soccer practices to fully quitting as a whole, jihoon found himself surrounded with a group of talented and dedicated students with an interest in the performing arts. 

“christ, kid. where’d you even learn all of these dances?” jihoon laughed as he plopped himself onto the wooden floor face first, out of breathe and extremely sweaty, having just finished up the afternoon’s work of learning from a choreographer.

chan let out a laugh, plopping down onto the floor next to him as he shrugged, catching the water bottle junhui tosses towards him. “from this youtuber, he’s pretty big in the dancing community.” he admitted, nodding his head. “ever heard of 10:10 choreography?” 

jihoon raises an eyebrow, shaking his head quickly as he rolled over onto his back. “never heard of him.” 

“check him out, he’s seriously the best. he goes by the name ‘hoshi’. aside from uploading his own choreographies, he also does a lot of dance covers.” junhui added, bangs slicked with sweat as he pressed the cool surface of his water bottle against his cheek.

jihoon nodded his head slowly, and later that night, when he’s in the comforts of his own room, does he check up on this so-called ‘hoshi’. and wow, they really weren’t kidding when they said he was the best. from his stage presence, to the way each move is enunciated with each step, jihoon didn’t think he could fall in love with the way a person dances. in almost every video jihoon watches, hoshi’s face is covered with a hat. you can barely catch a glimpse of how he’d look underneath it, which sparks jihoon’s curiosity even more. with a bit more research, it seems that hoshi is a pretty closed off guy, keeping all information of his personal life a secret. jihoon speculates that ‘hoshi’ probably isn’t even his real name, and he begins to wonder about the guy behind the camera. 

it wasn’t a crush, because how could jihoon have a crush on someone he doesn’t even know? rather, he’d like to think of it as admiration for the male. he admired the dedication hoshi has for each and every dance video he uploads, admires the way his dancing seems close to perfection, down to the nook and cranny of things. (he even admires those videos hoshi uploads where he has a wife beater and sweatpants on, his arms practically glistening with sweat, but he keeps that mainly to himself.)

jihoon becomes an avid fan of hoshi’s, following closely each and every video he uploads. chan and junhui find it amusing when they catch jihoon studying one of hoshi’s choreographies ( _ “or do you think hyung is studying his body instead?” chan teases, which earns a glare from jihoon) _ . something about the way hoshi seemed so effortlessly flawless made jihoon want to do better, unconsciously pushing him to do his best when it comes to dancing. 

\--

jihoon has to restrain himself from letting out a very unmanly squeal, clearing his throat as he pulls out his laptop from his backpack; bless his university for providing free wi-fi throughout campus. he has to ignore the knowing smirk on seungcheol’s lips from the corner of his eyes, immediately going onto youtube to watch hoshi’s latest video.

his eyebrows furrowed as he clicked on the video, because the title read ‘[DANCE COVER] BTS - Blood Sweat & Tears.’ he was ecstatic, to say the least, and he wonders if hoshi chose to cover the song because he left a comment (or five) asking for him to give it a try. is it odd to grow giddy at the thought that hoshi could have possibly read his comments, and could possibly have acknowledged his existence? jihoon shrugs the thought away; it wasn’t like he was going to admit that to anyone.

as the camera focuses on hoshi, jihoon notes the similar dance studio the male usually films in, the familiar hat and mask he wears to cover his face, and even the adidas pants he oftens wears in his videos. jihoon watches the recording rather intently, eyes practically glued to the screen of his laptop as he carefully examines each step and movement from hoshi. from the first video he watched of his, to now, jihoon still finds himself in awe by how easily hoshi made dancing seem. 

once the video was over, jihoon felt as though his skin was rejuvenated, body cleansed with holy water, and his damaged blonde hair suddenly ten times healthier. he unconsciously felt a small smile tug upon his lips, fingers scrolling down to read through the usual small blurb hoshi would leave.

“hello all! thanks again for supporting me and watching this video! special thanks to wooz26 for recommending this song to me, it was a difficult piece to learn, but it was definitely worth it!

always dance! even if the music stops, don’t stop dancing! ~hoshi” read the short message, and jihoon could practically yell from excitement because the hoshi of 10:10 choreography actually did acknowledge him this time.

he could feel seungcheol’s gaze upon him, and tries his best to keep his composure, clearing his throat as he slowly and carefully closes his laptop. 

“how was the video?” seungcheol speaks up once jihoon’s placed his laptop back into his backpack, raising an eyebrow as he shoveled another spoonful of rice into his mouth. 

jihoon makes a face at his best friend’s eating manners, shrugging as he picks up his spoon to finish the rest of his birthday seaweed soup. “same old thing, he uploaded a dance cover.”

seungcheol snorts, but doesn’t question further. he normally doesn’t, having little to no concern over who hoshi is - much to jihoon’s relief. seungcheol knew enough to tease him as it is. 

“mm, also. are you still going to practice? you don’t have to, because it’s your birthday. but junhui just wanted to know ahead of time.”

jihoon hummed, finishing up the last bits of his meal as he shrugged. “yeah, i’ll go. not like i’ll be doing anything special today.”

\--

88 DAYS.

the dance studio is filled with the bubbly chatter of the members, music blasting in the background of it all as jihoon notes the familiar faces he sees as he slips inside. he offers a sheepish smile and laugh as he nods his head in acknowledgment towards the others, who all burst out into song, singing happy birthday to him. they all pat him on the back as he walks by, muttering out ‘thank you’s as he quickly shuffles over to junhui, who’s standing next to the small bluetooth speakers, body leaning against the mirrored wall. he can’t help but roll his eyes out of affection for his dance members, the singing coming to a halt as the room is filled with chatter yet again. 

“look who’s here.” junhui comments, flashing a smile at the shorter as he tosses his phone onto his gym bag. “happy birthday! i didn’t think you’d want to come today.”

jihoon shrugs, dropping his bag next to junhui’s as he casts his gaze downwards. “why wouldn’t i? the competition is in four months, but we still have a lot of ground to cover in terms of choreography.” 

junhui scrunches his nose a bit, noting how little time they had left. though four months seems to be quite enough time for everything to be perfect, in retrospect, it’s as though they had a month left. 

“alrighty, ready to teach that choreography of yours? we’ve all been eager to learn the next piece for the competition.” junhui speaks up after a moment of silence between the two, patting the smaller male’s head lightly as he pushes himself off the wall.

jihoon takes in a deep breath, and nods his head. “let’s see what they can do.”

\--

77 DAYS.

three months until the day of the competition and the groupchat ultimately wakes jihoon up from his nap.  _ there goes the only time i’ll ever get some sleep,  _ jihoon thinks, sighing as he rolls himself out of bed, literally, and landing ungracefully onto the floor. he rubs his eyes with his palms as he sits up, glancing up towards his roommate's bed. nope, not back yet.

after a moment of silence, jihoon remembers why he woke up, scrambling towards his desk to check his phone.

 

**cheol** : guys, did u check the email??????

**chan:** oh shit

**jeonghan:** language!!!!!!

**cheol:** ji, did u check the email???

**seokmin:** oh boy, did jihoon hyung explode from anger or smthing??? LOLOLOL

**junhui:** he’s probably asleep… 

**cheol:** JIHOOOOOOOOOON

**cheol:** hey

**cheol:** wake

**cheol:** up

**cheol:** lazy

**cheol:** ass

 

jihoon frowned, eyebrows furrowing as he quickly opened his laptop, fingers furiously typing away, logging into the group’s e-mail.

it was from the dance competition coordinators. he took in a shaky breath, hesitating for a moment, before clicking open the e-mail.

 

_ Hello Andromeda Members, _

_ This is Korea Wave, and we’re here in regards to your submission into our competition. We recognize your group’s talents, seeing the list of accomplishments you guys have as a result. However, there is a slight problem.  _

_ There seems to be another dance team in your university that has submitted their forms for the competition. We, as Korea Wave, only allow one dance team to represent their university. The staff of Korea Wave are not denying your place in the competition, however, we are asking for the possibility of combining your dance team with the dance team Shining Diamonds. _

_ We have e-mailed the other team in regards to this. Both teams have exquisite performances and have attended many competitions together prior. However, Korea Wave’s ruling is a bit different compared to other dance competitions. We hope you understand, and we are truly sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. _

_ If you have any questions, do not be afraid to reach out to us. _

_ Sincerely, _

  
  


_ Korea Wave _

 

jihoon grits his teeth, staring hard at the email in frustration.  _ you’ve got to be kidding me _ , he thinks to himself, shutting his laptop quick as his hands move up to gently pull at his hair. sighing, he slowly gains his sanity back, reaching for his phone.

 

**jihoon:** am i dreaming? 

**cheol:** morning sleeping beauty

**chan:** it’s 6pm 

**cheol:** evening sleeping beauty

**seokmin:** what now

**jihoon:** ... 

**jihoon:** dance studio in 10 mins

 

he quickly pockets his phone, letting out a loud groan of annoyance as he hurriedly slips on his shoes, practically running to the dance studio.

\--

shining diamonds is a dance team that was established around the same year when andromeda came to life. jihoon felt a bit odd at the idea of another dance team on campus, but he brushed the thought aside, solely focusing on andromeda itself. the two groups have competed against each other on multiple occasions, and won against one another during various occasions. however, it wasn’t like they were rivaling teams, seeing as the members were quite friendly and associated with each other a lot. they shared a common interest in dancing and music, and created a friendly bond with one another. the teams had different dance styles, which set them apart from one another. however, that wasn’t the issue.

_kwon soonyoung_ , choreographer for shining diamonds, was jihoon’s main problem. maybe it was an internalized jealousy that jihoon would probably never let himself admit out loud, or maybe it was due to the fact that soonyoung had referred to him as “short stuff” upon their first meeting; either way, jihoon held a certain dislike for the male. 

he promised himself he’d never want to work alongside with the other, who’s always happy and energetic, smile smug and dance skills at another level. it’s as though he knows how good of a dancer he was, ego rising above and beyond even the buildings of the university. seungcheol has told him multiple times that he was over exaggerating, and that soonyoung wasn’t as bad as he thought. and yeah, maybe jihoon would like to think that, but there was something about soonyoung that bothered him to no end, and he just couldn’t push that thought aside. 

stumbling inside the dance studio, all the members were already gathered in a circle, speaking in hushed tones until the sound of the door closing shut startled them from their discussion, glancing up at jihoon with wide eyes, a look of fear suddenly dawning upon them. 

“looks like you guys already have an answer, huh?” jihoon muttered, walking over and plopping himself down onto the floor of the dance studio, in between seokmin and seungcheol.

seungcheol offered a nervous smile, followed by an awkward chuckle as he patted his friend on the back.

“okay jihoon, i know this isn’t probably what you want to hear from us, but i think we should join together with shining diamonds.” seungcheol spoke up, nodding his head quickly. the other members followed suit, causing jihoon to raise an eyebrow.

jihoon sat there for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip nervously as he tried to comprehend everything. “wait, hold on. i don’t know…”

“jihoonie hyung, i know you don’t like soonyoung hyung much, but i’m sure it won’t be so bad!” chan chimed in afterwards. jihoon grimaced a bit at the comment, gaze darting elsewhere sheepishly.

“yeah. also, it isn’t like it’s a permanent thing! it’s only for this one competition.” junhui mentioned, nodding his head. 

after jihoon had spoken for a couple of minutes, the dance studio eerily quiet, seungcheol spoke up. “even if we do say no to working with shining diamonds, the chances of korea wave choosing them over us is high. they participated in more competitions than us, and would have a higher advantage. this is korea wave, ji.”

jihoon had a frown on his face, quickly glancing at the others, before shifting his gaze towards the floor of the dance studio. he thought of the wasted opportunity for andromeda if they denied this chance to compete in korea wave, and knew that it wouldn’t be fair to his members over his own personal contempt against soonyoung to turn away from this. seungcheol was right, this was korea wave they were talking about, the dance competition where many famous groups from around the world come to compete. they were lucky enough to get recognized and casted to submit an audition tape, so giving it up over something as small as an internal rivalry would just be dumb.

after a moment of silence, jihoon glanced up. “okay. and even if i do agree to this, we don’t know for sure if shining diamonds is willing to collaborate with us?”

jihoon noticed the way the members perked up with interest, and knew he was making the right choice. at least, he hopes. 

“ah, no problem! i invited soonyoung here. he should be coming in any minute now.” jeonghan mentioned, which had jihoon’s eyes widening in disbelief.

“now? are you--” and before jihoon could even finish his sentence, the door to the dance studio swung open.

jihoon took in a deep breathe, turning around in his spot to face none other than kwon soonyoung. the male was decked out with his adidas training pants and black hoodie, hands stuffed into the pockets as he shuffles towards them.

“so, are we combining forces?” soonyoung asks, a bright grin on his lips that made jihoon’s blood boil, gaze landing down onto jihoon. “how about it, ji?” soonyoung’s voice is soft, yet there’s a hint of teasing, and jihoon wants to scoff in response. 

he grits his teeth out of annoyance at the unexpected nickname, resisting the urge to get up and smack the smile off his face. “looks like we are.” he responds back, expression stoic as he keeps his voice stable.

soonyoung paused for a moment, almost as though he hadn’t expected that answer from jihoon. the look of surprise was immediately washed away, followed with a bright smile.

“perfect. guess i’ll be seeing you around a lot more than.” soonyoung comments, smile unwavering as he cocks his head to the side. “this should go smoothly, seeing as everyone already knows one another between our group.”

seungcheol gave jihoon a small pat, startling him slightly as he shoots a glare towards the older. “of course. but what about the choreography? we know ours, and they know yours. so what now?”

soonyoung crossed his arms over his chest, teeth chewing on his bottom lip as a thoughtful look crossed over his face. “good point, i guess we’d have to discuss that amongst the choreographers. who choreographs the dances?”

shit.

jihoon lift his hand up almost reluctantly, raising an eyebrow in the direction towards soonyoung. “i do.”

soonyoung doesn’t look much surprised, but his smile is back now. “okay. looks like we’ll need to meet up tomorrow to discuss things, maybe choreograph something?” he mumbles under his breathe, eyebrows furrowing. it dawns on all of them how much time and effort was going to be needed, soonyoung letting out an almost inaudible sigh.

“looks like we’ll be spending  _ a lot _ more time together. we’ll figure things out tomorrow, see you guys later.” and with a small wave and a wink in the direction towards jihoon, soonyoung takes his leave. 

\--

jihoon practically crawled his way back to his dorm, in much need of his bed and laptop. for now, he didn’t want to think of the dance competition, the shining diamonds, or soonyoung. all jihoon wants to do is to catch up on some dramas, as well as some youtube videos. he notices the lack of videos being uploaded by hoshi, and he wonders if the youtuber is okay. was he going on a hiatus? was he giving up on uploading videos? or worse, on dancing? he shrugs at the thought, unable to really do anything in this situation. jihoon just hopes the male is doing alright.

  
he scrolls through hoshi’s channel, eyes skimming through the many dance videos he’s uploaded so far. it doesn’t hurt to watch an old video of his, choosing to play one from a year ago. something about hoshi’s videos and dancing had a way to calm him, oddly enough. as jihoon continued to watch hoshi’s dance video, his nerves about the competition slowly disappeared. though it’ll be tough teaching a new set of people his choreography, learning a new choreography, as well as having to come up with choreography alongside soonyoung, jihoon’s motivation skyrockets just a bit. as hoshi always says at the end of his comments, even if the music stops, keep dancing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh! this will be my first chaptered fic in a while ;;  
> i usually try and stick to a one shot sort of fic, but there was a lot of  
> material i wanted to write into the fic that couldn't possibly be a one shot ;;  
> i'm aiming for around 3 chapters?  
> lowkey got inspired for this fic from my friends haha ;; 
> 
> * i also wrote this around the time of bts' comeback with blood, sweat and tears,,, LOL
> 
> ** also much love and thanks to my bebe angela for helping me finalize the idea of the storyline!!! ♡♡
> 
> thank you for reading, comments and kudos are much appreciated! ♡♡  
> i love reading comments and any types of criticism tbh ;;


	2. Chapter 2

jihoon sat waiting outside the dance studio, back pressed against the wall as he glanced down the empty hallway. where the hell was soonyoung?

he rolled his eyes. leave it to the other to be late. sighing, jihoon pulled out his phone, responding back to seungcheol, promising he won’t bite off soonyoung’s head, moving to tap into a game on his phone. a moment passes by, and he hears the rushed footsteps from afar, glancing up to see soonyoung running down the hall towards him.

jihoon decided this was his cue to get up, pushing himself off the wall and onto his feet as soonyoung practically slid in front of him, panting and clearly out of breathe as he braces his hands against his thighs. 

“shit. sorry.” he managed to say in between breaths, coughing as he straightens his body up. “i forgot to set my alarm.” 

jihoon shrugged, waving his hand dismissively. “it’s fine.” he mumbles, eyes flickering to the door of the dance studio. “i think you have the key?”

jihoon glanced away from the sweaty male, taking a deep breathe as he mentally prepares himself to spend hours upon hours with kwon soonyoung; the kwon soonyoung. the kwon soonyoung who he avoided speaking to on several occasions. the kwon soonyoung who drunkenly squeezed his ass that one time at a party, leaving jihoon fuming with anger and soonyoung a punch in the gut. the kwon soonyoung, a name that left a bitter aftertaste once the words fell out of his mouth. and of course, it was the kwon soonyoung that was granted permission whenever he pleased into the dance studio. of course, by the time jihoon’s classes were over, the entrance to the dance studios would already be unlocked. still. jihoon was quite a petty person.

the sound of the door opening jolted jihoon back to reality, eyes flickering back to soonyoung as he smiled cheekily at the other, holding the door open for him.    
  
“after you.” he comments, which makes jihoon grumble under his breathe, as he stalks past the taller male, walking down the sleek hallway as he peers inside each of the dance studios.

they end up choosing a relatively smaller room, considering it was only going to be the two of them, jihoon pushing himself inside as he dropped his bag against the wall. 

“alright. let’s get started.” 

\-- 

competitions like this look for an element of creativity, a theme that could be noted throughout the performance. the two took quite a bit discussing what they could possibly showcase. andromeda and shining diamonds were two completely different groups with different styles and different ideas, causing a lot of talk amongst the dance community upon notice of the two’s collaboration. shining diamonds were known for their performance aspect, almost theatrical and story-like. andromeda was known for their precision and synchronization. shining diamonds lacked something that andromeda had, and andromeda lacked something that shining diamonds had. it was almost a perfect match, if only the two choreographers could get along.

“what?” jihoon muttered, raising an eyebrow at soonyoung.

“a story of coming together, joining forces. it’s perfect for the situation we’re in, considering we were clumped together last minute for this competition.” 

jihoon pursed his lips, trying to wrap his head around the idea. “okay, that’s a start. but how exactly will we execute this through our performance? remember, we’ll be going up against top dance competitors. have you seen the line-up?”

“no, i haven’t. and i’ll probably check it out later, but that’s not my priority right now. you’re right, there will be some fierce competition, so we have to put in our all. and it’ll be hard, we’re two different groups with different dynamics. but i know we can pull through this. we’ll reenact a sort of break-up or relationship theme. something dealing with a union of two people, or in our case, two groups. it could be fun.” soonyoung concluded, taking in a deep breathe as he stared hard at the floor. his eyebrows furrowed, opening his mouth occasionally as though he wanted to change whatever he had just said. 

“it sounds like a good idea.” jihoon piped up soon after, causing soonyoung’s head to snap up almost immediately, eyes wide.

“really?” he asks, almost out of disbelief.

“yeah?” jihoon mumbled, his own eyebrows furrowing as he let his legs extend outwards in front of him, looking away from the other’s intense stares as he started to do some stretches. “why? do you think we should change something about it?”

soonyoung doesn’t say anything for a moment, and jihoon has the urge to look up to check if the taller male was still there. 

“i don’t know. i’m fine with it at the moment, considering you also agreed upon it. maybe later on i’ll have some things to tweak here and there.” soonyoung muttered thoughtfully, standing up soon after to do some stretches as well. 

“so, first thing’s first. show me what you’ve got so far.” soonyoung speaks up after they’ve completed their stretches, jihoon raising an eyebrow as he scrambled onto his feet. 

“now? what’s the point if we aren’t going to use it in the performance.” jihoo grumbled stubbornly, not really in the mood to dance solo for soonyoung.

“hey, you never know. maybe it could work.” soonyoung shrugged. “c’mon, you’re a good dancer. nothing to be shy about.”

jihoon feels his cheeks heat up at soonyoung’s words, glaring daggers at the other as his eyes furrowed. “i’m not shy.” he grumbles, shuffling over to the stereos to plug in his phone. stupid soonyoung.

he sighs, scrolling through his phone to play the remix of the song closer by the chainsmokers, suddenly feeling anxious. from behind, jihoon could hear soonyoung shuffling about. when he does turn around, he finds soonyoung seated on the floor, waiting. 

jihoon decides to pull out his hat from his bag, clipping it over his head as he starts the music. he didn’t know why, but he just couldn’t meet soonyoung’s eye while he dance, using his cap as a way to block out the other’s existence for this short moment. 

jihoon knew he wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t the best at the same time. so he felt a bit shaky at the thought of performing solo.don’t get him wrong, he’s done it many times before for the members of andromeda; but this was different. it was soonyoung, whatever that meant.

taking a deep breath, he let the music play, and his body follow along to the beat. his feet move along through the choreography, noting down parts of the dance his members couldn’t necessarily learn right away, having to work on it couple times more. he keeps his focus on soonyoung’s shoe, eyes glued to them as he glided into each step. his part was done after the first chorus, letting out a shaky laugh as he tipped his hat off his head, quickly shuffling to turn the music off. for a moment he forgot soonyoung was in the room, before he bursted out into a round of applause, startling the shorter.

“that was great!” soonyoung grinned, bouncing up onto his feet as he started to replicate small parts of jihoon’s choreography. “i especially liked that one part after the beat drops, where you did something like this?” soonyoung comments, trying to show jihoon what exactly he meant. 

ah, that part. jihoon notes, feeling a smile pulling on his lips as he watches soonyoung almost instantly get the part down after having just seen him dance it once. he shouldn’t have expected anything less, remembering how the others took awhile to catch onto that part.

“thanks.” he muttered, chuckling lightly as he pushed his bangs back, slipping his cap over his head once again. “how about you? it’s only fair.” he lightly commented, shifting his gaze non-conspicuously over to the other. jihoon always knew how good of a dancer soonyoung was, heard the people around him from other groups commenting on the way he dances. maybe it was due to pride, but he never really took much interest, always excusing himself when the shining diamonds go up to perform, claiming he has to practice a bit more, or use the bathroom.

“me?” soonyoung laughs, shrugging his shoulders as he moves to rub the back of his nape. “i didn’t really teach the others anything yet, but i could show you something else?”

jihoon shrugged, nodding his head slowly. “whatever works for you. toss me your phone, i’ll connect it with the speakers.” 

soonyoung dug his phone out of his pocket, shuffling towards jihoon as he held it out for him. “you heard that remix of ‘i love kanye’? that should be the first song on my playlist, just let me know when to start.” 

jihoon gave a short nod, swiping up on the other’s phone as he clicks ‘play’. he turns to let the other know, but once the beat starts, soonyoung’s already dancing. 

and everything he’s heard from others is true. the way soonyoung dances was something that made you want to sit and watch, almost captivating in a sense. it’s odd how engrossed jihoon was into soonyoung’s performance. the dance was fun, playful, but it still had sharp moves and steps that jihoon noted in his head for memory. it was a choreography that made you think, made you want to replicate and try it out for yourself, and had a catchy rhythm to it. the smiling, goofy soonyoung before was replaced with a side of soonyoung he’s never seen until now. it was almost attractive, if he had to admit to himself, and only himself. as jihoon watched the other dance, a sense of deja vu washes over him, eyebrows furrowing at the familiarity of it all.

before jihoon could dwell any further on the thought, soonyoung comes to a halt as the music continues, that cheeky grin pulling back onto his face as he looked expectedly at jihoon. “how was that? i don’t know if you noticed, i messed up a little at the beginning.” he admitted sheepishly, shrugging as he lifted his shirt to dab at his forehead.

“oh, wow. that was really good. honest. teach me one day, i’d like to learn it.” jihoon said, chuckling under his breathe, before clearing his throat, noting how he gazed just a beat too long at the other.

“really?” soonyoung brightens up at the comment, nodding his head. “i was actually going to hold a workshop next friday with a friend, and i’ll be teaching it then if you’d like to swing by?” 

jihoon raises an eyebrow. he’s been to workshops before, having learned from dancers apart of the bigger dance groups. it was a great place to make friends, meet new dancers and learn something fun and challenging. the fee is usually cheap, considering everyone’s a college student struggling to get by in terms of money. 

“ah, that’s cool. who else is teaching?” 

soonyoung grinned. “i’ll be teaching two pieces, while jungkook from army will be teaching another two.” 

“oh, shit. i love army, their sets are great. i only met jungkook recently.” jihoon commented, nodding his head slowly as he considered his options.

“yeah, come out for it? it’s not too far from campus. if you want you can ask maybe someone from andromeda or shining diamonds to come out too? but i’ll be there, so you won’t have to worry.” soonyoung muses, voice teasing just a bit as jihoon scoffs.

“yeah, okay. maybe. i’ll see if i could come out.” jihoon concludes, clearing his throat as he pushes himself off the mirrored-wall, shuffling towards the center of the room next to soonyoung. “first, let’s try and figure this out. we have less than three months until the competition, and with a group of 13, i don’t know how we’ll manage to teach them all.”

soonyoung waves his hand dismissively, face bright and confident. “no problem! two great choreographers here, we can teach them. going off with our theme of relationships, why don’t you teach me your piece, and we’ll pick a song and choreograph something together?”

jihoon nods. “sounds good.”

\--

“c’mon, it wasn’t so bad, right? soonyoung came out alive, so i’m assuming it went perfectly fine?” seungcheol questions, raising an eyebrow as he looks up from his tofu stew. jihoon rolls his eyes, poking at his food as he shrugs. coming out for dinner after spending the whole day making choreography was something that should be relaxing, his body sore and soaked with sweat, but seungcheol always enjoys nagging at him like a wife.

“yeah, it was fine. soonyoung’s not dead, and neither am i. i survived.” jihoon fake cheers, raising his hands in the air. “woo.”

seungcheol snort under his breathe, scooping some rice into his mouth. “hey, i told you soonyoung wasn’t so bad, right? he’s a chill dude, totally cool and not an arrogant asshole.” 

jihoon nods his head out of habit, seungcheol’s voice easily getting tuned out.

“yah, are you even listening to me?” seungcheol speaks up, voice loud and prominent throughout the restaurant, causing jihoon to glare straight at him.

“yeah, something about arrogant asshole.” he mumbled, eating his food as he heard seungcheol sigh out in defeat. 

“after that.”

jihoon tries to rack his brain for anything. “okay, you caught me. i tuned you out.”

silence.

“asshole. i was asking if you guys came up with anything?”

jihoon nods his head quickly, holding a thumbs up. “we did, actually. i taught him the closer piece, and we came up with something as well. we’ll probably teach it the next time we all practice.”

seungcheol nods his head, taking a sip from his drink. “good, hopefully we’ll be able to get six minutes worth of kick ass choreographies. with the two of you combined, i’m sure we can pull it off.”

jihoon nodded his head absentmindedly again, gaze dazing off for a moment, suddenly lost in thought.

“hey. soonyoung said he had a workshop next friday.” 

seungcheol glances up from his food, tilting his head. “and? he usually always has workshops monthly.”

“yeah. he just kind of mentioned i should go. i’m not so sure though.” he shrugs, going back to poking at his food.

“go, why not? he usually donates half the profits to charity, and the other half going to things like outfits and stuff. i’m sure it’ll be fun.”

jihoon hesitates, because of course seungcheol would encourage him to go. if nothing’s dangerous or life threatening, seungcheol would always push jihoon to do something that’ll break him out of his shell. 

“i don’t know. i’ll see.” 

seungcheol shrugs. “up to you, kid.”

jihoon makes a face, before nodding his head quickly. 

it’s as he’s walking back to campus, seungcheol having gone back to his apartment, does he receive a text from soonyoung.

 

to: jihoon

i sent the link to the events page on facebook. i hope to see that you’ll be going? ^^

 

jihoon chuckles under his breathe, staring at the message for a moment before pocketing his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> where am i going with this aaaaah ;;
> 
> just a bit of build up in ksy and ljh's relationship;;
> 
> i'll see how i want things to fall together in regards to 'hoshi'
> 
> comments and kudos are much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

in a week, they’ve managed to nail down thirty seconds of choreography. out of a total of six minutes. it wasn’t a lot of progress, and time was ticking faster than they’re actually aware of, yet they still considered that a successful practice. 

within the week, jihoon dyed his hair pink. “something different.” he told jeonghan, who often helped him dye his hair. perks of having a friend who’s family owned a hair salon - discounts. 

he didn’t think pink would suit him much, but it compliments his skin tone, and he could pull it off. seungcheol shakes his shoulders excitedly when he sees the shorter’s newly dyed hair. “damn, by different you really went different. this is better than the time you dyed your hair red.”

jihoon shrugs him off, but he appreciates the comment. 

it’s on the thursday when hoshi uploads a new video, and the video that jihoon promptly misses while scrolling through his subscriptions on youtube. his phone doesn’t receive the notification, weirdly enough, and on top of that, jihoon’s swamped with three essays due all at once. the thought of youtube, hoshi, or dancing was far from his thoughts at the moment.

but friday comes. jihoon hands in his papers, classes done by one in the afternoon, thankfully. he practically drags himself out of class, hurriedly walking off towards the dorms so he could just make up for the lack of sleep he got last night. rather, the sleep he didn’t get at all. his eye twitches when he hears someone calling his name, and he’s tempted to ignore it and push his way out the door, but a hand’s on his shoulder, promptly stopping him from doing so.

“hey.” the male behind him breathes out, a little bit too close for comfort, which has jihoon jetting away from the male and his touch. soonyoung. of course, the one who knows no boundary in regards to someone’s personal space. 

“yeah?” jihoon raises an eyebrow, because why would soonyoung stop him to chit chat? that was a foreign area for both of them. they don’t communicate outside of dance practices, and when jihoon ever does pass by the taller randomly, he pretends he doesn’t see him. 

“i was calling your name.” soonyoung said matter of factly. 

“really? i didn’t hear you.” jihoon lies right through his teeth, tilting his head. “what’s up?” 

“ah, i was wondering if you were still planning on coming to my workshop tonight?” soonyoung asks, a smile emerging onto his face as he looked at the other expectedly.

right. he knew there was something about this day that nagged at the back of his mind throughout the week.

“yeah, you mentioned it before. what time is it again?” he asks, having no real intention of actually going. a part of him did want to go, maybe stop by to learn jungkook’s dances, but another part of him wanted to hold back, for some reason unaware to even himself.

“it’s at seven! you know the dance studio near campus? across the street from the convenience store everyone goes to? it’s right there. room 23a. promise to stay for me? and not just leaving right after jungkook’s.” soonyoung commented, holding his pinky out towards the shorter male. “it’ll be nice seeing you there. please?” 

jihoon felt, what was it?, touched the male had really wanted to see him there. he dipped his head down to stare at the floor, fixing the hat on his head as he gave a short nod. “yeah, okay. sure. i’ll be there. i’ll probably bring seungcheol.” 

he glances up at soonyoung, who’s still holding out his pinky. jihoon reluctantly interlocks his pinky with the other’s.

soonyoung’s smile practically blinds him, stumbling out of the building with a weight on his shoulders.

he quickly calls seungcheol, only to have jeonghan answer. 

“hey, tell seungcheol, wherever he is, that he has to come with me to soonyoung’s workshop tonight.” 

jeonghan snorts from the other side of the phone. “yeah, i’ll let him know.”

“make sure he’s actually going to come, and not just ditch me last minute like he usually does.” jihoon huffs, sulking his way back to his dorm room. 

“i’ll be sure he goes, don’t worry. count on me!” jeonghan says cheerfully, only to hear seungcheol’s muffled protests in the background.

jihoon doesn’t feel at ease, so he messages momo as well, asking if she’d like to attend a workshop with him. he knew she was always up for a challenge, having met at one of the local competitions a year ago. since then, they’ve grown quite a close friendship. she was apart of the group one in a million, who jihoon was all friendly with. 

she responds back within five minutes, assuring him of her attendance. he lets out a sigh of relief. at least he had momo with him.

letting out a breathe of air, he figures he might as well try and take a nap before the workshop. 

it’s when jihoon’s finally settled in his room, his roommate having left some food he picked up nearby, does he check up on his favorite youtuber. the new video hoshi uploads is an original choreography to jay park’s all i wanna do. jihoon’s excited to see a new piece from the said male, watching his newest video as he shovels down some of his food. it was always nice to see a dancer different interpretation of a song with many other dance choreographies to compare to. it’s a short video, a minute long only, but the dance is captivating in itself. his small comments in the about section subtly indicates he’s getting busier, and the videos will become less frequent. jihoon admires hoshi, for all the things he’s managed to juggle (at least what he could imagine), while jihoon could barely handle a dance competition with an extra seven people to dance alongside. despite it all, jihoon finds himself slightly motivated by watching the youtuber’s dance, and he hopes for the best that the workshop tonight will be somewhat entertaining.

 

 

 

seungcheol stops by around 6:30 pm, his knocking consistent and continuous until jihoon practically yanks the door open. “stop.”

jihoon glares holes into the back of seungcheol’s head, as the older casually saunters into his room. “don’t speak to someone who’s going out of his way to go to a workshop with you. shouldn’t you, i don’t know, give me something in return? like food? a hug? sympathy?” 

jihoon scoffs lightly, rolling his eyes as he simply closes the door behind him. “momo’s coming too, and i don’t see her requesting something out of me.” 

“oh! she is? ah, she’s such a great dancer. pretty, too.” seungcheol comments, drifting off into a small daze, before jihoon’s flicking his cheek immediately. 

“yeah, she is pretty. and a great dancer. don’t be creepy around her, especially because you have jeonghan. you know, your boyfriend.” jihoon comments, making a face at the older as he slips a hoodie over his head, as well as pulling a hat over his head. 

“i’m never creepy!” seungcheol says defensively, crossing his arms over his chest as he sulks. “hey, i’m a man. i can think people are pretty. i think you’re pretty.” 

jihoon smacks seungcheol’s hat off quickly as he walks by, ignoring the comment as the taller squawks, grabbing for his hat as it flies off and onto the floor. “you’re so short, how’d you even manage to do that!”

 

 

 

momo meets them in front of the studio, smiling as she waves immediately when she spots the two. “jihoon! oh seungcheol, i didn’t know you were coming too.” 

“hey, it’s good to see you. how have you been?” seungcheol speaks up first, grinning as he offers the female a hug. jihoon rolls his eyes when momo, much to her surprise, is embraced by seungcheol. she stumbles back when he pulls away, a laugh escaping his lips. she opens her arms for a hug from jihoon. it wouldn’t hurt, of course. 

jihoon’s quick to hug her, chuckling when she mutters in his ear, “was seungcheol oppa always this weird?” 

“yeah, most likely.” jihoon grins, patting her back lightly as they made their way inside the building.

the room wasn’t as full as he expected, managing to spot a couple of familiar dancers he’s seen around before. they sign up with the person seated next to the door, seokjin, who jihoon remembers was jungkook’s older brother. 

“hey jihoon, nice seeing you again.” seokjin comments, grinning. “are you paying for one class only or two?” 

jihoon smiles back in response to the older, before hesitating in his response. “it’ll be worth my money to attend both, so might as well.” he laughs lightly, paying his fee as seokjin stamps the back of his hand twice.

he shuffles his way inside, greeting the other dances with a wave, occasionally a hug and a handshake with those who he previously interacted with before. jihoon spotted soonyoung from the corner of his eyes, and he did his best to avoid meeting the other’s gaze, keeping his head low. he doesn’t know, honestly, why he felt the need to ignore the other. they were acquaintances enough, yet jihoon didn’t want to give in under soonyoung, didn’t want to associate himself with the other. maybe it was a pride thing, or maybe it was jealousy - the more he thinks, the more he realizes they’re interlinked together, somehow, in someway. 

he shrugs the thought away, glancing around the studio as he waits for seungcheol and momo, before he spots a familiar face off to the side. jihoon’s quick with his steps, approaching howon, a close friend of his back in busan. they were neighbors, and jihoon always admired the older when he showed him his dances. never did jihoon think he would be where he was in college, dancing. though jihoon gave his initial push towards dancing in recognition of hoshi, he believes howon also had a small part in it as well. 

“hyung, you never told me you were going to this workshop.” jihoon grins as he approaches the taller. the male smiles in response, startled at jihoon’s appearance, but brushes it away quickly as he reaches to tap at the bill of jihoon’s hat.

“hey, you never told me either. and you never responded to my message from last night!” howon chuckles, teasing the younger.

jihoon rolled his eyes. “i had three essays due today. three. i honestly didn’t think that was possible.” 

howon snorted in response, patting the shorter’s back as he glances towards soonyoung and jungkook, who were busy talking amongst themselves. “jungkook invited me, thought i’d stop by.” 

“still dancing, even with an office job, huh?” jihoon chuckles, shoving his hands into his pocket. 

“of course. i think i’ll still be dancing, no matter what kind of job i have.” howon mutters in response, though the look on his face seems distant, almost remorseful. 

jihoon opens his mouth to speak up, say something, but a call from the front of the room is heard, and jihoon stays quiet as he listens. 

“thank you guys so much for coming out today! i hope you’re ready to sweat your asses off, because we have two upbeat, fast paced songs to teach.” jungkook spoke up, smiling proudly. 

there were a couple of ‘hell yeah’ and ‘let’s do this!’ shouted out amongst the small group, and jihoon felt a slight excitement run through his body. 

the first piece was jungkook’s, with a remix of the oh-so famous broccoli song. everyone gathered against the wall as they let jungkook take center, quick to show off his choreography. it was fast, for sure, dance moves quick and polished. jihoon doesn’t think he saw someone move so fluidly with such dance moves. he spots soonyoung slightly mirroring the dance moves at the side barely, a grin never leaving his face as he hypes up jungkook with his ‘woos’ and ‘yeahs’ being thrown out whenever he does a move that has the group cheering.

jihoon can already feel himself sweating, just by watching jungkook. he makes quick work of his hoodie, pulling it off so he’s wearing a t-shirt, tossing the hoodie against the wall next to his bag. seungcheol managed to squeeze next to jihoon, a determined look on his face.

jungkook taught the class. it wasn’t so graceful at first, many getting frustrated to the point of leaving the room for some fresh air. it was challenging, but jihoon wasn’t going to give up. they only had an hour and a half to learn, and when the time was up, everyone was out of breathe, and desperate for water. it was the nature of the class, and expected from a dancer like jungkook. 

soonyoung’s dance seemed to take it down a notch just slightly. the song was i’m not sorry, by dean featuring eric bellinger. the moves weren’t as quick as jungkook’s, but it packed a punch. soonyoung acted along with the words, dancing as though he told a story. it was playful to watch, yet his moves were nothing to joke about. 

soonyoung’s eyes caught sight of jihoon, locking eyes only for a moment, before soonyoung’s looking away again (not without a quick wink towards his direction), promptly teaching the class his choreography. some stumbled with it, and some had only stayed for jungkook’s class, shortly leaving once soonyoung began. nevertheless, people were dealing well with the class. maybe it was the way soonyoung taught the dance, or whatever, people were easily getting it down.

towards the end of the class, everyone took a group photo, with the help of seokjin. jihoon let out a sigh as everyone applauded for the two, chuckling as he clapped his hands as well. he shuffled towards the back to grab his stuff, spotting seungcheol sprawled on the floor, body practically soaked with sweat, as momo tries to fan him with her hand.

“hey, you seemed like you got the choreography down.” momo grinned, as jihoon took a seat next to her on the floor.

“you did too.” he chuckled, nudging her playfully with his elbow, before glancing down at seungcheol. “what happened to you?”

seungcheol held a hand up, trying to catch his breathe, before he springs his body up into a sitting position. “i died. came back to life. died once more, and now i’m alive again. the things i do for you, you seriously owe me like a kiss or something.”

jihoon makes a face, lightly kicking the older’s leg. “gross.”

“yeah, why don’t i do the kissing for him?” a voice calls from behind, soonyoung grinning as he makes his way towards them. “it was me and jungkook’s dance that made you die. twice.”

seungcheol laughed, patting soonyoung’s back as he plops down next to the older.

“jihoon, learn from him.” 

the said male glares holes at seungcheol, who all but shies away from his threatening gaze.

“anyway, i’ve seen you around. momo right?” soonyoung smiles, holding a hand out. “you’re jihoon’s girlfriend?”

momo laughs, jihoon raises an eyebrow in question, and seungcheol snorts. 

"nah, we’re just friends.” momo says, almost as though she was reassuring someone, shaking the man's hand. 

“mm, that’s nice. i guess jihoon invited you to my workshop?” soonyoung commented, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with his shirt sleeve. 

“yeah, i did. i knew she’d enjoy it.” jihoon speaks up, glancing over at soonyoung. “it was a nice choreo you got.”

soonyoung’s smile widens even more, if that was possible. “thanks.”

seungcheol sighs loudly. “alright, i gotta get going now. jeonghan’s already nagging me, so i’ll catch you guys later.” 

“me too, i have an 8am lab tomorrow morning. much fun.” momo comments, looking like she wants to cry as she reluctantly gets up from her spot after seungcheol.

jihoon panics. his supports were both leaving, and at this point the room was practically empty. 

“wait, guys.” jihoon calls out, reaching a hand out as they waved their goodbyes. was this planned?

“you busy? why don’t we grab something to eat.”

ah, yes. this was what jihoon was afraid of. communicating with soonyoung.

“yeah, i don’t know. i might have to-”

“c’mon, ji!” jihoon twitched at the nickname. “i doubt you had anything to eat, so let’s grab something. there’s a ddeokbokki place nearby that’s still open.”

jihoon finding no other reason to leave, just gives a quick nod.

 

 

 

“tell me. how’d you get into dancing?” soonyoung asks with a mouth full of ddeokbokki, the corners of his lips stained red from the sauce. jihoon has the urge to wipe it away, but he doesn’t. his mind’s a bit fuzzy, and on any regular day, jihoon would probably ignore soonyoung’s question, probably find a way around it. but soonyoung offered him alcohol. so he took it. it’s not like he was going to say no. he wasn’t drunk, but any alcohol in his system always loosened him up a bit when it comes to talking.

“probably in high school?” jihoon shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck as he pokes at the egg.”i was always around seungcheol and jeonghan, and it naturally happened where i joined their little club.”

soonyoung chuckled, fanning himself as he tries to cool down the burning feel on his tongue. 

“what about you?” jihoon asked, genuinely curious. 

“i liked dancing ever since i was young. my mom said i’d just shake my butt when i was younger, and i ended up doing a lot of things related to dance at a really young age. my mom said i never really was taught, it just happened? i just danced.” he chuckles, shrugging. “i guess i never got into dancing, it was more of, dancing got into me? does that make sense?” he laughs softly, shrugging as he downs a glass of water.

jihoon nods his head thoughtfully, not having really ate his food. he suspected soonyoung was a dancer, ever since he spotted him in class. something about him yelled dancer (or maybe it was the way he dressed). either way, something irked him that soonyoung was just naturally good in dancing. everything came to him just like that, a simple snap of his fingers and he can come up with choreography, follow a dance he’s just seen in an instance, and practically lives and breathes dance. 

jihoon learned. he learned to dance, and learned to appreciate every aspect of it. their was nothing wrong, of course. and many consider him a great choreographer. but anyone can learn to dance. not everyone could be naturally good at it. and maybe that was what jihoon feared the most, that insignificant idea that he just wasn’t that good enough. 

jihoon chuckles softly in response, nodding his head. “yeah, it does.”

“what pushed you to continue to dance? you said you did sports a lot, right? what happened from there?” soonyoung asked out of curiosity, raising an eyebrow as he pushed the plate of tteokbokki closer to jihoon.

“me? oh.” jihoon fumbles with his words, not sure how to say it. “well, i guess back in busan, i’d always watch a hyung dance. he was actually at the workshop today, too. he was a great dancer, and he’d always dance outside. he let me watch, even taught me a little bit. it was my first exposure to dancing, and i guess it played a part in my interest in dance.”

soonyoung smiles thoughtfully as he listens to the other, dipping his chopsticks into the sauce of the tteokbokki. “and what about then? in high school?”

jihoon paused. “oh. well, my friends i guess? they introduced me to some youtubers who did a lot of dancing, which furthered my interests.”

soonyoung raised an eyebrow in question, stopping his movements briefly, before continuing casually. “really? who do you like to watch?” 

jihoon purses his lips out, shrugging as he bites into his tteokbokki. “i don’t know. mostly the other competing groups, since they upload some covers here and there. there’s a guy named hoshi i watch often, and i know momo has her dance channel, as well as my hyung. it’s always fun to see how others dance, how different it is from my own way of dancing.”

soonyoung nodded slowly, licking his lips of the tteokbokki sauce as he hesitated in his words. “so. hoshi, i heard of him. his dancing is okay.” 

jihoon blinked. “yeah, he’s pretty good.”

soonyoung’s staring intently at jihoon at this point, much to his discomfort, who all but looks away and out the window. it was nearing midnight, and the burn of the tteokbokki sauce lingered on his mouth.

“you look even prettier with pink hair, you know that?” soonyoung spoke up, after a moment of silence.

jihoon chokes on his water, dropping his chopsticks in the process as he bursts into a fit of coughs. soonyoung lets out a yelp, quick to pat jihoon’s back as he coughed up the water that went down the wrong tube. 

“shit, you okay?” soonyoung asks, tilting his head as his hand rests against jihoon’s back now, rubbing slowly and comfortingly.

jihoon tries to catch his breathe, soonyoung’s words oddly imprinted into his thoughts. he feels his cheeks heated up, but he blames that on exerting his body so much when coughing. 

“yeah, i’m fine.” jihoon manages to croak out, clearing his throat as he inches away from soonyoung’s touch. “also, i’m not pretty… or whatever. let’s go, it’s late.”

with that, jihoon’s standing up and handing over money to soonyoung. “for the tteokbokki. thanks.”   
soonyoung tries to get a word in, tries to explain himself a bit further, but jihoon’s out the door before any other words could be exchanged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are much appreciated! tell me what you like / don't like about the fic?
> 
> ♡


	4. Chapter 4

as usual, jihoon avoids any form of contact with soonyoung. this was normal for him, however he had a reason for it this time around. the words from the older lingered in his thoughts, at times when he least expected it to, and was very much caught off guard. it’s not like this was the first time he was called pretty. seungcheol does it all the time, and jihoon just gives him a look of disapproval as a response. but when soonyoung said it, even in his slightly drunken state, jihoon reacted differently. he didn’t have the urge to spit his water at him, like what he’d probably do if it was seungcheol. his cheeks were flushed pink (though jihoon tries to reason with himself because it was the tteokbokki), and he felt … bashful? something jihoon never feels, especially  _ never  _ around or because of soonyoung.

and besides, it’s  _ just _ soonyoung. so jihoon really can’t wrap his head around the fact that his words were affecting him even four days after the incident. 

a small, rolled up ball of paper is flicked towards jihoon’s face, hitting him square in the forehead. he jolts a bit, immediately glaring at seungkwan. 

“hey!” jihoon scowls, scrunching his nose up as he goes back to his work. what was he even doing again?

“your textbook is upside down.” seungkwan comments, and jihoon could almost hear the smirk on his lips. taking a deep breathe, jihoon clears his throat as he readjusts his textbook so it was facing the right way, ignoring the heat of embarrassment filling in his cheeks as he practically glared holes into his textbook to avoid seungkwan’s questioning gaze. he swiftly puts his headphones on, drowning out whatever seungkwan had to say next.

  
  
  
  
  


_ 63 DAYS _

 

competition day was nearing, and arguments and complaints filled the room like never before. sometimes the other would complain about the song choice, sometimes a specific move in the routine that didn’t seem to add up.

then there was the doubts. of course, it was the elephant in the room. but jihoon was too stubborn to acknowledge it. 

however, the question is brought up suddenly, in the middle of practice on a friday night. jihoon’s in the middle of trying to teach his piece of the choreography, when soonyoung speaks up from the corner of the room he has himself buried in.

“should we even bother competing?” 

jihoon pauses in his steps as the music blares loudly in the background. he turns slowly to look at soonyoung, raising an eyebrow. “excuse me?” he questioned, as though he hadn’t just heard what soonyoung said, rather, can’t believe what the other said. 

“like, do you think should we just showcase? instead of dealing with the pressures of competing, we could always just be a guest performer.” soonyoung states, shrugging as he glances at the other members. the air is heavy, tension rising as the seconds pass by. no one says a word, not really knowing exactly what could be said at this moment.

“you’re fucking unbelievable.” jihoon laugh empty and lacking any real substance, pulling his hat off as he walks towards his bag.

“maybe he’s not wrong, hyung?” vernon speaks up after a moment of silence, trying to find some sort of balance between the two choreographers. 

jihoon doesn’t say anything. in all honesty, he doesn’t even know what to say.

“but we’ve already got some progress, why the sudden change in mind?” jisoo speaks up.

“c’mon guys, we’ll just embarrass ourselves trying to compete. we can barely get two songs down and we don’t even have three months left ‘til the day of the competition.” soonyoung speaks up from the other side of the room.

“that doesn’t mean we won’t be able to get it down. hey, if you were planning on just showcasing, why the fuck did you agree to have our two groups merge? if you weren’t planning on competing, what the fuck is the point of all of this then?” jihoon speaks up, turning his head sharply to glare at soonyoung. “ever heard of pushing through to get the job done? if you can’t even do that, that’s pretty pathetic.”

“ji.” seungcheol speaks up, shaking his head immediately as he locks eyes with the shorter.

“what? i’m not wasting my fucking time working so hard just to showcase. the amount of effort and time we’d put in showcasing would be the same case if we were competing. why waste all my time to just showcase?” jihoon scoffs, gritting his teeth as he looked dead on at soonyoung. 

“jihoon.” soonyoung speaks up, his tone serious, arms folded across his chest. “do you really think we’re ready for the competition?”

jihoon takes in a deep breathe. “no. but if we showcase, do you plan on putting on a half-assed performance?” 

soonyoung doesn’t say anything, jaw clenching. 

“exactly. you’d still put effort into the dance. but if you really think showcasing would be the best option, then please, count me out.” jihoon says, voice loud and clear, echoing throughout the walls of the room. he gathers his things in a rush, ignoring the calls of his name as he walks out.

  
  
  
  
  
  


 

jihoon did not like quitting on the things he loved to do. no matter what, he put in his utmost efforts into it. whether it was tennis, soccer, or dance, he dedicated himself one hundred and ten percent. 

the night is cold, and the adrenaline from his anger is starting to slowly disappear. soonyoung was the person he least expected to suggest showcasing over competing. in all honesty, jihoon believed that soonyoung was a great dancer. despite the front he held in claiming he disliked the male, a part of him found the other inspiring. so it sent a wave of shock over him when he heard those exact words leave the older’s mouth. 

maybe he was overreacting. maybe he was just emotional from all the stress that was placed on him - from school work, to dance, jihoon barely had any time to breathe. but despite it all, he put in effort to everything he did. and with soonyoung’s words, it was just a kick to his ego. all the time he took out to teach the others, only to be wasted by showcasing in the biggest dance competition in seoul? what was the point? 

and to hear soonyoung talk so lowly of their group sends another blow to his ego. yes, jihoon didn’t think they were ready for the competition - not yet, at least. they had barely two months until the competition, and they’ve changed their songs and concepts multiple times throughout the process. yes, jihoon didn’t know exactly how things would turn out, but it was something he wouldn’t mind putting extra time and effort into. sure, maybe yelling and causing a scene wasn’t the way to go about things - he was always one to act before he could even process what was actually happening - but it was just so frustrating to hear their group talked about so lightly, especially someone who’s a member of said group. 

jihoon walks all the way to the convenience store to buy a pack of cigarettes, smoking one on the way back, taking his time as he kicks at every possible rock on the ground in front of him. he had stopped smoking for a while now, a good three months. seungcheol would be disappointed if he found out. 

he finds himself seated outside of the dance studio building, perched on one of the benches as he exhales softly. the mix of cold air and smoke evades his face, realizing then just how much he missed smoking. 

“i didn’t know you smoked.” a voice is heard, jihoon glancing over slowly to see soonyoung at the door of the building. 

“i stopped. until now, i guess.” jihoon speaks up, a forced smile pulling onto his lips. he looks away from the older, a wave of disappointment washing over him as he chooses to stare at the ground in front of him instead. he hears the other’s footsteps approach him, feels soonyoung’s presence as the male takes a seat next to him. their arms are touching, and jihoon questions soonyoung’s close proximity almost immediately. before he could open his mouth to say anything, soonyoung’s speaking up.

“i’m sorry, you know, for suggesting to showcase.” soonyoung says softly. jihoon steals a glance at the other, who’s staring straight up at the sky, the moonlight reflecting off his cheeks. shrugging, jihoon taps at the cigarette in between his fingers, forcing himself to look away.

“i overreacted, it’s fine.” jihoon mutters, putting the bud to his lips as he inhales slowly, the ashy smoke filling up his lungs. 

“i guess i was just worried we wouldn’t be able to get things done, you know? with our limited time, we’re cutting things really close, jihoon.” soonyoung speaks up again, clearing his throat. “i’m not saying our group will do horribly, or we’ll embarrass ourselves. i was just trying to throw out a suggestion, maybe put less stress on the others. they work really hard, and sometimes the choreography gets a bit overwhelming.”

jihoon nods his head along with soonyoung’s words, having realized he was too caught up with himself to think of the others, a trait of his he didn’t really admire too much. 

“you’re right. shit, you’re completely right. i just kept pushing them to learn, and i guess i wasn’t even thinking of how they felt.” jihoon admitted, groaning out in frustration.

soonyoung chuckles beside him. “hey, it’s fine. they understand you only mean well for the group, they see how much you do already.” 

jihoon sulks a bit, tossing his cigarette onto the floor as he crushes it with the heel of his shoe. even a cigarette can’t cheer him up now. 

“besides, they all argued with me that competing would be the better option. though i never said competing wasn’t, it convinced me otherwise.” the other laughs, light and airy as he nudges jihoon with his elbow playfully. “we still need our choreographer though, how else would this group run without you?”

jihoon finds flattery from soonyoung almost amusing, but he’s touched either way. “probably stress free.” he comments dryly, a chuckle leaving his lips despite it. “what are you even saying? you’re also the choreographer, too.”

“yeah, but i don’t think i could handle the group on my own. besides, i think you’re much better than me.” soonyoung grins, and jihoon thinks that maybe soonyoung isn’t all that bad. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ 50 DAYS _

 

“soonyoung’s birthday is next thursday.” minghao mentions one day at practice, soonyoung skipping that day because of a 10-page paper due the next day he hadn’t even started.

“oh! we have practice that day, right? why don’t we surprise hyung with something!” mingyu sitting up immediately. “i can bake a cake!”

jihoon snorts, stretching forward as he let a yawn slip past his lips. “cake sounds nice. are we supposed to get him a gift or something?”

“yeah, you with a bow on your head would be a perfect gift for hyung.” seungkwan speaks up, voice teasing as he wiggles his eyebrows playfully.

jihoon scoffs, looking away from the younger as he continues to stretch out his limbs. “very funny.”

it wasn’t a surprise that soonyoung and jihoon got closer, with the amount of time they’d have to spend with each other for the competition, it was bound to happen. though everyone claims jihoon is soonyoung’s favorite, he doesn’t see it. (he won’t ignore the slight satisfaction he gets when he hears that, though.)

“seriously, what could we get soonyoung hyung for a birthday gift?” junhui’s muffled voice breaks past his thoughts, the taller boy’s body sprawled on the floor as he stares up at the ceiling. 

“shoes?” wonwoo suggests.

“yeah! that’ll work. hyung takes care of his shoes a lot.” seungkwan mentions, clapping his hands excitedly. “this is fun.”

jihoon rolls his eyes as the others burst into excited chatter over the surprise planned for soonyoung, before he’s getting up. 

“alright, let’s get this song down and we’ll figure out what to get soonyoung.”

  
  
  
  
  


jihoon wonders how hoshi’s doing, the lack of updates must mean the other was busy, right? he questions whether the youtuber was okay, checking his account for any updates or new videos. there isn’t any, and jihoon grows curious who exactly hoshi is.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaah, how to implement the whole youtuber aspect without coming off cliche? ;;
> 
> hopefully this update isnt as short ;;
> 
>  
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated ♡


	5. Chapter 5

_ 45 DAYS. _

 

“just get him a small!”

“ _ seriously _ ? medium, soonyoung hyung isn’t that skinny!”

“that shirt’s ugly, pick this one!”

“shut up, seungcheol, you dress like a grandpa!”

jihoon sighed, refraining from rubbing his temples as he sheepishly bowed his head to the workers, who were all but staring at the group of guys arguing over a simple t-shirt. he knew it was a bad idea to go out and buy soonyoung a gift as a group - all 12 of them - however, they insisted that they had to get choose something together. jihoon watched as the lot of them huddled and debated over which shirt would look best on soonyoung, whilst he was seated on one of the cushioned chairs, playing a quick game of 2048. 

“hey, jihoon-ah! which one would look best on soonyoung?” jeonghan called out to him, who all but waves a hand dismissively, not bothering to look up.

“they both look great. just hurry up and pick.” he said, voice trailing off towards the end of his sentence, clearly distracted and clearly  _ not _ interested. 

“no fun! you didn’t even bother looking up.” chan piped up, causing jihoon to sigh and look up just to please the younger. one shirt had a simple design; gray with the logo on the top corner of the shirt, words imprinted in red that catches jihoon’s eye first; it was oversized and something he could see soonyoung wear to dance, or just in general. the other was a dress shirt, in the shade of navy blue. it had a huge pocket on the left side of the shirt, outlined with orange; another bright color that caught his eye almost immediately. it was something that jihoon never saw soonyoung wear; the male normally dresses like he walked out of an adidas store. every. single. day. 

“the navy one. i like that one.” jihoon finally concluded, turning his attention away as he hears the faint cheers and disappointed ‘aww’s that echoed throughout the group of boys. it was something he’d never admit out loud, and still has trouble admitting to himself at the moment, but he figures he’d like to see soonyoung dressed up in something different. he tried picturing the dress shirt on soonyoung, trying to get an idea of how he’d might look, and found his cheeks warming up at the thought, which completely threw him off course. what. shaking his head, he immediately stood up and pocketed his phone, bumping into seokmin at the same time.

“hey, you okay, hyung?” seokmin asked, chuckling as he gave the shorter male a pat on his head. jihoon chuckled, flustered as he nodded his head quickly.

“never been better.” he muttered, ducking his head down as he tried to squeeze his way and avoid seokmin’s gaze.

“you sure? you’re a bit red.” he continued, promptly following after jihoon, who managed to weasel himself out of the store while the others paid. 

“oh? maybe it was just hot in there. you know, considering we pretty much hogged all the oxygen.” jihoon grumbled, stepping out and letting out a breathe. 

“i felt fine, but whatever you say hyung.” he chimed in cheerfully, standing beside jihoon as they waited for the others to slowly start filing out of the store. 

“come on, we gotta go back and practice. we can’t let soonyoung catch on that we went to buy his gift.” jihoon yelled into the store, trying to recollect his herd of puppies to follow along. 

after a couple of minutes of debating whether they should take the bus or taxi back, they considered their adventure off campus a success. 

 

\--

 

[recording: play. 9:05 PM]

the camera is shuffled around a bit, voices muffled behind someone’s finger was on top of the mic, camera lens slowly starting to focus.

“yah, how do i work this thing?” seungcheol spoke up, blinking up at the camera as he waves his hand in front of the lens. “why isn’t it focusing on my pretty face?” 

jeonghan snorts from beside him, chin resting against seungcheol’s shoulder as they watch as the camera finally focuses on their faces. “there we go!”

“god, this is so awkward to do. i feel like i’m a vlogger or something.” seungcheol mumbles, staring at himself from the reversible camera screen as he fixes his bangs. he tries to rearrange the way he holds the camera, much to no avail.

“you’ll get over it. don’t worry. now say something.” jeonghan rushes the male, who side-eyes his boyfriend in response.

“okay! hello! happy birthday!” seungcheol says awkwardly, voice cracking as he waves playfully at the camera. “man, i’m not used to this. but soonyoung, my friend, my buddy, when you’re watching this, we hope we were successful in making you cry. i know, that sounds bad because-”   
“why’d you say it like that?” seokmin calls out from the other side of the dance studio, while chan’s booing in the background, somewhere far from the camera’s view.

“listen listen, that’s the goal, isn’t it? anyway, we don’t mean any harm, we just wanted to tease you before celebrating your birthday!” seungcheol concludes, re-adjusting the camera again. “god, my arm hurts.”

“happy birthday soonyoung-ah!” jeonghan shouts, holding up a heart with his fingers, seungcheol making a face as he covers his ear with his other hand. “we’re hoping this mission will go as planned, and if not, i’m sure it’ll still create great memories. keep it up, choreographer!”

jeonghan takes the camera from seungcheol, shuffling quickly over to seokmin and mingyu, who’re leaning back against the mirrored wall. 

“say something for the birthday boy.” jeonghan says, pointing the camera in the direction of the two. 

“soonyoung hyung, happy birthday!” mingyu exclaims, winking erratically at the camera, only to have jeonghan shove his face away.

“you’re getting old, hyung! don’t break your bones dancing!” seokmin teases, making a heart with his hands over his head.    
“gosh, you kids are harsh.” jeonghan huffed, shaking his head as he quickly gets up, the camera blurred as he finds the rest of his targets.

“alrighty kids, you know what to do.” jeonghan says, plopping down in front of the other kids gathered in the corner next to the speakers, watching a recent video uploaded by a choreographer.

“hyung, happy birthday!” chan says, smiling at the camera. “i love you!” 

“i love you, i love you, i love you!” junhui manages to say in three languages with a straight face: english, chinese and korean, earning laughs around the group. he sends a wink at the camera’s direction, before promptly turning his attention back to the video playing on the laptop.

“happy birthday, hyung! i hope you like the gifts! jihoonie picked it out!” vernon says, holding a thumbs up, which causes jihoon to send a glare towards his direction.

“okay, he’s right, i did.” jihoon admits as he stares at the camera, batting his eyelashes, before he laughs it off, suddenly embarrassed at his own actions. “happy birthday. play me back in tsum tsum, loser.”

jeonghan slowly starts to zoom in on jihoon’s face, who’s quick to cover the camera. “yah, stop that!”

there’s a small chuckle from jeonghan behind the camera, before he’s zooming out and panning over to minghao, patiently waiting his turn.

“hyung. happy birthday. stop bullying me, please. you’re still the best though.” minghao grins, making a heart with his arms.

jeonghan quickly turns the camera away from their side, over to the opposite side of the room.

“guys, i’m lazy. say something!” he shouts, the camera slowly starting to zoom in on the boys who laid sprawled on the floor. 

seungkwan gets up almost immediately. “hyung. i love you!” he shouts, dancing aggressively to their recent choreography learned. “i’m not the best dancer, but i work hard for you!” he says dramatically, throwing out a bunch of hearts, from over his head, to his arms, to his fingers, to behind his back. his actions make the room burst into a fit of laughs, some even chucking empty water bottles at the younger to just get him to  _ stop _ .

“happy birthday!” wonwoo says, not bothering to sit up but holding up a heart from his fingers.

joshua makes a heart with his arms, crawling over to the camera, jeonghan shaking from behind the camera with laughter as joshua’s face is suddenly a blob of his hair from how zoomed in the camera was. 

“happy birthday! you’re finally old like me.” joshua said, wiggling his eyebrows playfully as jeonghan managed to capture it just in time, zooming out to get a clearer look of joshua.

“gosh, you’re so creepy.” he laughed, turning the camera around so it was held facing him. 

“soonyoung, we’re going to try and make you as frustrated as possible, to the point where we hope you cry. we’re sorry in advance if we end up just pissing you off!” jeonghan grins, waving his hand.

“i’m going to be so annoying, hyung. just you wait!” seungkwan says, popping up behind jeonghan. “sorry, but you know i love you!”

“yah, soonyoung almost never gets mad. we’ll see how far we push him.” jihoon says from off camera.

“we sent you to grab more water from the convenience store, so you should be back any minute now. so we love you, and happy birthday again!”

[recording: stop]

 

\--

 

[recording: play. 11:47 PM]

the camera is situated from a higher point of view, perched on top of something with chan in front of the camera, trying to fix the jacket covering it from sight of anyone else. he looks around quickly, noticing that soonyoung was distracted on his phone at the moment, whilst the others, all tired and out of breathe, were spread throughout the room. he holds up a finger to his lips as he glanced at the camera, fixing it once more, before he’s shuffling away with a water bottle in hand. he hands one to soonyoung, who takes it willingly, quickly downing it in seconds.

slowly beginning to focus, the camera manages to capture the part of the dance studio, the lot of boys sweating and on the brink of falling asleep. they were taking a break for the moment, the music faintly heard in the background. jihoon’s on his phone as he stands with his hands in his hoodie pocket, hat pulled so his face was hidden. the tension in the air could’ve easily been cut by a knife, sliced, diced, and everything in between. some members weren’t getting the new part down, confusion and frustration was left as a result. it was late at night and they were all exhausted. soonyoung was seated in the middle of the room, body leaning over his legs as he tries to stabilize his breathing, the camera capturing the side profile of the choreographer with chan next to him.

“soonyoung hyung.” seungkwan’s voice is heard, but he isn’t seen in the video. soonyoung immediately looks up and straight ahead where seungkwan was, nodding his head slowly in response. “you’re pushing us so much to finish it by tonight, i don’t think that’s going to help us.”

soonyoung pulls his hat off to run a hand through his hair, not able to say a word. “junhui hurt his ankle, and you’re still insisting for him to dance it off?” seungkwan continues, and the room is dead silent. from the camera’s view, seokmin’s mouth is wide open, holding up a thumbs up from somewhere behind soonyoung’s back, out of sight from the male’s view. his mouth moves, as though he was saying the word “amazing” before going back to maintaining his serious composure.

“seungkwan-ah. i never said it like that.” soonyoung said, the cheerful tone replaced with a more serious, voice almost unreadable. he let out a sigh, clear frustration written over his face.

“but hyung, if you knew he was hurt, shouldn’t we take a break and try and help him? but you insisted for everyone to continue, and for junhui to continue if he can. isn’t our health more important?” jeonghan interjects, acting spot on as it surprises soonyoung, and possibly himself. 

“of course it is.” soonyoung says, letting out a loud sigh. jihoon in the background looks up from his mouth, making a face at the camera as he clears his throat. 

“guys, it really hurts.” junhui speaks up, voice low and seemingly in pain, seated not so far away from soonyoung. 

“yeah, let’s take you to get some rest. maybe on-campus nurse could help.” seungkwan says, annoyance reverberating from his voice as he walks past soonyoung to go help junhui up, along with jeonghan. 

as the four leave the room, mingyu speaks up for the first time. “hyung, you okay?”

soonyoung doesn’t say anything for a moment, before throwing his hat against the floor out of frustration, getting up and walking off from the camera’s view. mingyu’s mouth is wide open as he watches soonyoung pace around the room, and everyone seemingly shocked at soonyoung’s action. though it’s reasonable and quite common for someone to get upset, they’ve actually never seen soonyoung get this worked up and frustrated.

no one says anything for a while, not even jihoon who keeps quiet to himself in the corner. it was any minute now… when one light in the room flickers off suddenly, the door swinging open with the birthday cake in sight.

the room explodes in song, singing ‘happy birthday’ at the loudest they possibly could. dino runs over to the camera, the video quality scrambled and shaky as he tries to position it as fast as possible to take footage of the cake being presented to soonyoung. he stood their, mouth slightly opened out of shock, eyebrows furrowing before realizing the situation, and immediately trying to walk away. jihoon and hansol hurriedly push him back, with junhui, who’s ankle was perfectly fine, coming in holding the cake, with seungkwan and jeonghan beside him. 

“... _ happy birthday our dear soonyoungie, happy birthday to you!”  _ they all sing, the camera panning over to soonyoung, who was covering his face with his arm, body shaking in what they could only assume that he was crying.

the groups bursts into yells and laughter, clapping as they almost dog pile the choreographer, who still refused to raise his head up from his arm. 

“hyung, i’m sorry! i love you!” seungkwan yells as he holds the boy in his arms, clinging on as soonyoung finally looks up, laughing at how unbelievable the situation of it all was.

“what the fuck, i seriously hate you guys!” he laughed, wiping his eyes immediately as he gives seungkwan a hug in return, who moves back to smush soonyoung’s cheeks together.

“aigo, i’m sorry hyung. it was all part of the plan!” seungkwan admits, wiping away his tears as the group crowds around him. the lights flicker back on, junhui coming over to wipe some cream onto soonyoung’s nose who laughs and tries to calm himself down.

“seriously? you even recorded it too?” he said out of disbelief, pointing to the camera as he tries to cover the camera out of embarrassment.

“when you got upset, everyone was like… shocked.” jihoon admits, laughing as he gives the taller male a pat on the back. 

“yeah! you guys didn’t see it. soonyoung hyung got up right after you left, and chucked his hat like this.” joshua said, imitating the small tantrum the older male pulled, causing everyone to burst into a fit of laughs. 

“listen listen, i felt really shitty, okay!” he said, his smile back to the smile they all came to love. “but seriously, thank you guys for the cake!” soonyoung chuckled, shuffling over to blow out the candles, tears still springing to life as he uses his shirt to wipe them away. 

“to winning first place in korea wave!” yelled soonyoung, nose stuffy from having cried, with shouts from everyone around. 

the camera pans over to everyone as they give warm hugs to soonyoung, ending with the shot of the cake being smushed into soonyoung’s face.

[recording: stop]

 

\--

 

“seriously?” soonyoung said, laughing as he looks up from the camera at jihoon, who’s collecting his stuff. it was a little past one in the morning, and the rest of the members already having made their way back to their dorms, after much work cleaning up the cake off of soonyoung’s face, as well as the cake on the floor. although they completely ruined one cake, they had back up for everyone to eat.  ( _ “we came prepared.” seungkwan admitted, patting his chest as they all enjoyed the wonderful cake. _ )

jihoon shrugged, pulling his duffel bag strap over his shoulder. “it was seungkwan and jeonghan’s idea to do this, and everyone thought it would be great.” 

soonyoung laughed, the smile on his face as he rewatched the clips over and over again. “hey, i did play you back in tsum tsum!”

“lies.” jihoon laughed, walking over to nudge at soonyoung’s leg, who was still seated on the ground. “let’s go, it’s late.”

soonyoung hesitated, before finally moving, putting the camera into his bag. “hey, wait! i wanted to open my gifts with the others.” he frowned, poking at the nicely wrapped box.

jihoon blinked. “oh, right. open it tomorrow.”

“but. i’m curious.” he mumbles, shaking the gift in hand. 

soonyoung glanced up at the smaller male, who looked at soonyoung, unamused. 

“alright, alright. open it now. i’ll sit with you.” jihoon sighed, plopping down across from soonyoung as the birthday boy was quick to tear apart the wrapping. jihoon shook his head slowly; all that effort mingyu put into wrapping it ever so nicely. what a waste on soonyoung.

“oh. cool! this shirt looks nice.” soonyoung grins, holding it up and in front of him. “though it’s rare to really see me in something like this.” he said slowly, before he’s pulling his sweater off and slipping the dress shirt on. 

he scrambles to his feet, shuffling over to the mirrored wall as he fixes his collar. “how do i look? professional? more like an adult working in an office?” he jokes, turning around to find jihoon staring his phone. “yah!”

jihoon glances up almost immediately, nodding his head quickly as he waves a hand dismissively. “yeah, perfect. like an adult alright.” 

soonyoung frowns, turning back to the mirror as he smoothes out his shirt, buttoning it over his white t-shirt. “it’s pretty comfy too. aw, i’m touched.” he sniffles, checking himself out in the mirror.

jihoon chuckles and rolls his eyes, stealing a quick glance at soonyoung. dammit, he was right. soonyoung  _ did _ look nice in the shirt. even with his messy, unkempt hair. clearing his throat, he diverted his attention to the gift bag, peering inside.

“hey, there’s more gifts here.” he called out to soonyoung, who immediately shuffles back, ever so excited.

“man, i love gifts.” soonyoung sighs happily, pulling out the rest of the contents in the bag. there was a range of gifts, from headphones to t-shirts, to small trinkets that soonyoung would love. jihoon watched as soonyoung ‘ooh’-ed and ‘aah’-ed at each item, trying them on, or taking them out of it’s packages. 

“you guys are seriously the best.” he cooes almost to himself, too absorbed with opening his gifts to remember that jihoon was there, until he pulls out the last one.

“oh shit.” he says quietly, looking down at the hat in his hands. “you got me the kinjaz cap i wanted.” 

jihoon blinked his eyes rapidly, widening almost immediately. “wha-”

“c’mon ji, you’re the only one i talked to about kinjaz.” he said, pushing his hair back as he slipped the cap onto his head, glancing over at the mirror to see how it looked. “no one else would’ve gotten me this hat.”

dammit.

“okay, you caught me. hope you like it.” jihoon admitted sheepishly, looking away at the door. man, what a surprise that was. “to be honest, this was all supposed to be anonymous! we each contributed, so you could’ve just played dumb or something.”

soonyoung rolled his eyes, clearly happy with the cap. “thanks, ji. this is awesome.”

jihoon glanced at soonyoung, who was all but happily taking selfies with his gifts, and chuckled to himself. the longer he spent around soonyoung, the more endearing he found the other male, and he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. 

 

\--

 

it’s when jihoon’s back in his dorm room, where he’s scrolling through his subscriptions on youtube, does he stumble upon hoshi’s channel again. clicking on it, he expected to find the same old; no new updates, but a collection of his videos that he already uploaded. however, there were none. nothing. no old videos or anything. his eyebrows furrow as he squints at the screen, refreshing his browser once, twice, three times until he realizes that it wasn’t just a bug. all of hoshi’s videos were gone, all except one. 

what the hell?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a hot minute :') guess who finally got inspiration to continue this fic again!!! and on 10/10 ha ha ha get it? ok,,
> 
> talk to me on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/inuhosh) about soonhoon or svt or anything really!! thanks for reading! ♡
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated. ♡


	6. Chapter 6

_40 DAYS._

 

“jihoonie hyung, what’s your instagram? let me tag you in the birthday photo!”

jihoon blinked once, twice, before registering what seungkwan said, glancing up from his laptop. “i don’t have one.” he said nonchalantly, before turning his attention back to his work. he ignores the audible gasp from seungkwan, who practically scrambles his way over to jihoon, who was seated comfortably on the floor of his dorm room, back pressed against his bed. he makes a face when seungkwan presses himself against him, phone in his hand as he stares at jihoon as though he just said something absolutely ridiculous.

“wha- really? hyung, you’re not even that old. everyone has instagram! even our combined group, shining andromeda, has one! hyung!” seungkwan’s yelling is exasperated and highly exaggerated, but jihoon’s used to it. kind of. he resists the urge to shove seungkwan’s face away from him, realizing just how close the younger was. wait, since when did their group even have an instagram? why didn’t anyone bring it up? he shrugs the thought away, considering he couldn’t be bothered to worry about things like that.

if jihoon had to be honest, he _did_ have an instagram. but in his defense, he only created an account just so he can watch fellow dancers and their choreography, hoping to gain some inspiration and motivation to dance. other than that, he found no purpose in having one. what was he going to post - food pictures? he’s too impatient and hungry all the time to try and get a nice photo out of it.

“i don’t have anything to post up.” he admits, eyebrows furrowing in frustration at seungkwan’s constant nagging, as well as the 12-page paper that was due tomorrow.

“c’mon hyung, you’re no fun. don’t worry, i’ll make an account for you!” seungkwan grinned, leaning away, _finally_ , as he eagerly began his task. jihoon slowly started to drown out seungkwan’s chatter, waving a hand dismissively in the direction of the boy.

“great, awesome, thanks boo. now let me finish this paper, or you’re buying me lunch for a month if i fail.”

seungkwan was practically out the door before jihoon could even finish his sentence, yelling out, “i love you, jihoonie hyung!”

 

-

 

midterms. the one thing that initiated a widespread lack of sleep for the students, running on coffee and mere hope for a passing grade. jihoon knew of the importance of midterms, hence why they concluded that there would be no practice for the week, solely using that time to study and stress eat their days away. although the dance competition was truly important to them, their grades came first. and seeing that jihoon was already slacking behind in two of his classes, he needed to get himself together before he’s falling apart faster than he can manage.

jihoon stares at his phone, the group chat blowing up at an unnecessary time: three in the morning. thank god he wasn't sleeping. he’s too lazy to pick up his phone, which was only a couple inches away from his laptop, but manages to read a few of the messages. something along the lines of “where’s jihoonie hyung”, “hyung i know you’re reading this whERE ARE YOU”, “i didnt even notice hyung wasn’t here”. he snorts, rolling his eyes as he flips his phone face down. the group had planned a study session in one of the new buildings, but knowing his friends, he’s just going to end up getting distracted and not finishing his work.

so here he was, sitting at a table next to the starbucks on campus. he had two espresso shots so far, and he’s already falling asleep again as he tries to write his paper. jihoon sighs, running his hands over his face as he tries to rub the sleep away from his eyes. he leans back against his chair, glancing around the area. jihoon spots a few other students here and there, some having fallen asleep atop their laptops, while others are too busy stress eating and studying for midterms. god, jihoon just wishes he can just get this paper over and done with.

shifting a bit, he focuses his attention back on his laptop, and after a few minutes of trying to figure out what else to bullshit in his paper, he finds himself on youtube instead. he scrolls through his subscriptions, uninterested in the new uploads so far before spotting a new video from hoshi. oh.

after finding out all of his content were deleted, jihoon had many questions on hoshi’s sudden disappearance. the only video that was left was his cover of the remix ‘holy grail’, which was the first video jihoon watched of hoshi’s.

he quickly clicked on the video, eyebrows furrowing as the video displayed a black screen. words emerged soon after, noticing that the video was only couple seconds long. “hiatus” was the only thing that was said, before the video came to an end. jihoon frowned, wondering what in the world was happening with hoshi. he noticed the comments were disabled, mouse hovering over hoshi’s channel name.

jihoon hesitates, before ultimately closing the tab. as much as he idolized hoshi, there was something about the way he danced that pulled at his skin, something similar and at the tip of his tongue, he just can’t tell what it was. closing his laptop, he glances over at the starbucks, the workers looking half dead, on their phones as they laze around in the back. he figures another cup of coffee wouldn’t be so bad to get himself focused, but he’ll get it later.   
“alright jihoon, just write another page and you can get a cup of coffee.” he mumbles to himself, and slowly begins to conclude that he’s losing his sanity. he opens his laptop once again, cracking his hands as he opens up his document.

determined, jihoon does his best to finish yet another page, eyes threatening to close any minute. he doesn’t realize he’s dozed off until he feels a pair of fingers brushing against his forehead. he jolts awake almost immediately, sitting up as he stares wide-eyed at a blushing soonyoung.

“oops. sorry.” soonyoung says, offering an unapologetic smile as he waves a drink in front of jihoon’s face. “figured you needed some coffee.”

jihoon sends a glare towards soonyoung, but takes the coffee willingly anyway. free coffee is best coffee. “how’d you know i was here anyway?”

“lucky guess?”

rolling his eyes, jihoon takes a sip from the coffee. “the others don’t know i’m here, right?”

soonyoung shakes his head, sitting back as he hoists his leg up onto the table. jihoon makes a face, pushing his laptop away before soonyoung crushes it under his foot. “i just said i was going to make coffee. but they’re all nagging about the fact you’re not there.”

downing the rest of the coffee, jihoon shrugs. “i need to finish this work before i can interact with them once again. they’re too loud when everyone’s together.” he mumbles in the empty cup, sighing as he tries to blink away the fatigue that starts to hit him.

“a reason why i stepped out to get some coffee.” soonyoung chuckles in response, glancing over at jihoon. “i’m going to head back now, before they start questioning whether i actually went to jump off the building.”

jihoon snorts in response, nodding his head as he waves his hand. “thanks again.”

soonyoung salutes the shorter male, before he’s scrambling to his feet and shuffling away. he watches as the other disappears from his view, and he can’t ignore the nagging feeling he gets in his chest whenever he’s around soonyoung. the coffee didn’t seem to help much, but soonyoung’s presence was enough to have his heart racing against his chest, keeping him awake long enough to finish his paper.

 

\--

 

jihoon finishes his paper by 10 am, just in time to submit it online before 10:30 am. he had class at 11, and another class at 1, but all he remembers is dragging his ass back to his dorm, and knocking out almost immediately.

he wakes up to the sound of knocking at his door, groaning as he drags his blanket over his head. with his eyes barely open, jihoon feels around for his phone to check the time. 5 pm. he literally slept the day away, rubbing his eyes as the knocking continued. he could hear voices muffled from outside, but he could care less as he presses his face against his pillow, all too willing to just go back to sleep. however, it was suddenly quiet. too quiet.

“lee jihoon!” came a sudden voice from right next to him, causing jihoon to let out a surprised yelp, flinching and ultimately rolling off his bed. he lands with a loud thud, the sharp pain running through his arm, body practically enveloped by his blankets.

“get out.” jihoon manages to say, ignoring the loud bursts of laughter from more than one person in this room, _his_ room. he frowns, sitting up on the ground as he pulls the blanket away from his face, glancing up to find a laughing joshua and seokmin, along with soonyoung standing at the doorway.

“how did you even get into my room?” he sighs, slowly dragging himself up off the floor, yawning.

“after five minutes of calling you and knocking, we realized you, probably as sleepy as you were, forgot to lock the door. and we were right. which, might i add, is dangerous. thank god it was just us.” seokmin says, patting jihoon’s head, who almost growls at the other.

“i should lock, especially to keep _you_ guys out.” he grumbles, stretching his arms upwards as he tosses his blanket back onto his bed. “what’s up? why are you bothering me?” he grumbles, crawling back onto his bed as he sits with his back pressed against the wall.

“well.” soonyoung speaks up, shuffling closer to the three of them. “we were planning on filming a concept video. and, i just got news that we were wanted to showcase at yg university’s annual dance competition.”

jihoon groans, running a hand through his hair at all the sudden news being thrown at him whilst he was still groggy from sleep.

“i. well, we’ve been planning a concept video for a while, yeah. but showcasing? we have a competition in two months, not even. what are we supposed to perform?” jihoon questions, his attention directed solely towards soonyoung.

the male shrugs helplessly. “that’s why we’re here. to see what you think about showcasing. my idea was we could grab a couple of the members that are available, and perform as a small group for the showcase. that is, if you’re up for doing it.”

jihoon glances over at seokmin and joshua, who both share a look of uncertainty. “wouldn’t it be too much to ask from them?”

“hey, it was just an idea. i could send back a message saying we won’t be able to perform.” soonyoung said, shrugging. “it’s not a big deal.”

“but it’d help get our names out.” joshua spoke up, offering a sheepish smile. “since the group combined into one for korea wave’s competition, i don’t think many have actually seen us perform as a united force. maybe having some members perform to show what we can do will help us gain some publicity?”

soonyoung’s eyes flickered towards jihoon's, locking eyes immediately. “so?”

“ask on the group chat if anyone is willing to perform at yg, and we’ll see from there.” jihoon concludes, rubbing his eyes with his palms. “let’s reuse an old choreography or something, make it easier on us if anything. the only difference is we’d have to teach it to the members that don’t know.”

soonyoung clap his hands once, nodding his head. “sounds good. i’ll send back a reply right now.”

“you sure about this, jihoon?” seokmin asks, raising an eyebrow in question.

“yeah. it should be fine.” he nods, waving a hand as he shuffles past them. “we just need dedication and time. and everything should run smoothly.”

jihoon hopes, at least.

 

\--

 

showcasing is relatively easier, considering they weren’t being judged or competing against the others in the show. however, doesn’t mean it gives them an excuse to slack off on their practice and performance. jihoon knew attending this would be hectic on him, and for the members. but they went into this with the mindset that they knew it’ll be like this from the beginning, and it’s too late to back out now.

after a group discussion, it’s finalized that six of them will be performing at yg’s dance show, two weeks from now. they will be learning a choreography from chan, a choreography from soonyoung, and a choreography from jihoon.

everything’s a bit rushed in the beginning, tensions rising and nerves on edge. jihoon snaps at everyone. even soonyoung’s bright composure was lacking at their nightly practices. it was hard trying to learn different choreographies for different sets. from five to nine, the whole group would come together to continue practice for korea wave’s big competition. then, from nine to eleven, the six would stay back and perfect their set.

it’s a week until their showcase performance, and they’ve managed to learn all three choreographies. though a few necessary changes and synchronization was much needed, they give themselves a break on that friday. no practices for those three days, including the weekend, just to give everyone a chance to catch up on their studies or sleep, or both.

jihoon plans on spending his friday night in his dorm, declining the many offers from the others to go out to a party here, or a party there. maybe after the big competition. but for now, he just wants to stay in and watch some anime.

he managed to get in a couple episodes of his favorite anime as of right now, and, on a whim, ended up dyeing his hair black. he was pleased with the results, his black hair finally making a return after years of dye after dye. jihoon could already feel his hair thanking him for normalcy. sighing, he brings his laptop back with him, plopping down onto his bed as the scene begins to intensify, and he’s glad he finally gets a chance to breathe, enjoying a simple night like this.

his roommate is almost never in their shared dorm, but they’re well acquainted and are still friends. jihoon just concluded that jooheon was always with his boyfriend, and would every once in awhile send a message to the male wondering how he’s been. his stuff is still here, and he’ll come in every now and then to grab a few things, or to drop stuff off. but as of right now, jihoon was alone, and he began to find comfort in that.

however, he knew his night of relaxation wouldn’t last long when he gets a text message from soonyoung at around 11 pm.

 

**from: soonyoung**   
**to: jihoon**

where r u?

 

jihoon frowns, opting to ignore the message. but curiosity had him picking up his phone to reply.

 

**from: jihoon**   
**to: soonyoung**

dorm

 

he squints at the message, as though trying to decipher what kind of hidden message it may have from kwon soonyoung.

the response is almost instantaneous, as though he was waiting.

 

**from: soonyoung**   
**to: jihoon**

perfect, bc i’m outside

 

wha-- there’s a knock at his door, and jihoon scoffs. you’ve got to be kidding me, he thinks as he pauses his show.

he hesitates from getting up, until he hears soonyoung’s muffled voice from behind the door. “jihoon.” he calls out, voice slightly slurred.

the idiot’s been drinking?

jihoon sighs, pushing his laptop off onto his bed as he shuffles to the door. he opens it a crack, peeking an eye out.

“what.” he states firmly, prepared to slam the door shut if necessary. he’s had many encounters of this with seungcheol being drunk and upset after arguing with jeonghan, and although jihoon would offer his roommate’s almost always empty bed, he needed some sleep. (“it helps force you to speak your issues with jeonghan and _not_ bother me.” jihoon shrugs, as seungcheol glares at him from over his cup of coffee, the headache killing his head and the pain in his back from having fallen asleep outside of jihoon’s room.)

“wanna get some ddeokbokki?” comes soonyoung’s voice, a lot more stable than before. jihoon squints up at the taller. no signs of intoxication from the latter. maybe jihoon misheard?

“did you drink before or something? where in the hell did you come from?” jihoon asks, opening the door fully as he finally gets a better glimpse at soonyoung.

it’s illegal for him to be thinking this, especially about kwon soonyoung, a hated rival turned competitor aiming for the same goal, but he looked … attractive. jihoon also concluded that it was illegal for soonyoung to wear earrings, eye makeup, and skin tight clothes.

“you smell.” jihoon states, and soonyoung blinks.

“i drank two cans, and i came from a party. jeonghan dragged me along with the rest of ‘em, but i got bored. and, you dyed your hair.” he states matter of factly, eyes drawn to the different color almost immediately.

jihoon ignores his last commentary, completely forgetting about that as he raises an eyebrow. “and you’re here because?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“i wanted to get ddeokbokki. and i figured you didn’t eat yet, but wow. you look nice.” soonyoung says, almost in awe as he leans his body against the doorframe.

jihoon squints. “i- how- nevermind. thanks for the compliment and offer, but i can’t, i’m busy.”

“with what? watching your anime?” soonyoung raised an eyebrow, and without a good enough comeback, jihoon slipped on his shoes, grabbed his jacket and scarf and followed soonyoung out.

 

\--

 

“you know, i could’ve given you a change of clothes.” jihoon grumbled in his black sweater, hood pulled up as they sit in a small ddeokbokki shop, waiting for their order.

soonyoung stands out, an eyesore with his styled hair, loose shirt, and skin tight pants that could kill. he smiles sheepishly, having sobered up a bit as he nods his head. “yeah, i know.”

jihoon snorts, taking a sip of his beer as he sits silently, waiting for their food. he taps his fingers along the table, glancing around the almost empty shop as he tries ignoring soonyoung’s presence for just a moment, nose filled with the scent of his cologne as he makes a face, scooting a little bit further from the male.

soonyoung seems to notice this, offering a sheepish smile. "i went overboard on the cologne, huh?" 

jihoon gives a short nod. "just a little bit." he mumbles, casting a quick glance at soonyoung, before shifting his eyes away when he noticed the other already staring. 

"hey, remember how i said pink looks nice on you?" soonyoung speaks up, leaning back against his chair. jihoon raises an eyebrow in response, opting to not remind the other male that the exact words were "pretty", shrugging.

"and?"

"i've concluded you look nice in any hair color." soonyoung says, smugly grinning at the other. jihoon rolls his eyes playfully, maintaining his composure as he tried not to smile at how oddly satisfying it was to hear another compliment from soonyoung. so he chooses not to reply, nodding his had in silent agreement. 

soonyoung quietly swirls his beer in his hand, almost debating whether he should open his mouth to say something else. and he does.

“so, what anime were you watching?” he concludes after minutes of silence, tipping his head to the side out of curiosity.

jihoon blinked, pursing his lips in thought. “haikyuu!! season 2. i’m finally catching up.”

soonyoung laughed, nodding his head. “i finished season 1 just recently, and haven’t gotten to watching season 2. let me know if it’s worth the watch.”

“will do.” jihoon chuckles, and much to his relief, the ddeokbokki arrives and talking is seized for the moment as they shove the spicy rice cakes into their mouth.

“you know, jihoon, you should really eat something.” soonyoung says, finishing the rest of his beer in one gulp.

jihoon shrugs, licking his lips of the ddeokbokki sauce. “you know, soonyoung, you should really stop acting like my mom.”

“listen. you run on coffee and only coffee. it’s a bit concerning, and as your friend, i want you to eat.”

“we’re friends?” jihoon questions, but there’s a hint of teasing in his words that has soonyoung relaxing in the spot, almost reassuring him that he was joking. ever so slightly. 

“wow, i’m hurt.” soonyoung scoffs, moving to steal jihoon’s beer, much to his protest.

“hi hurt, i want my beer back.” jihoon snorts, picking up a piece of fish cake and chewing on it absentmindedly.

“wow. dad jokes, jihoon? wow.”

“shut up.”

 

\--

 

shouting out his thanks to the workers in the back, jihoon finds himself stumbling out of the shop and met with the harsh, cold winter wind. he braces himself, eyes squeezed shut as the wind almost pushes him backwards, frowning as he pulls his jacket hood over his head.

soonyoung follows out after, cursing as the wind smacks him right in the face. “ah shit, it’s so cold.” he groans, as jihoon begins walking ahead. “wait, wait, ji. you forgot this.”

jihoon frowns, turning back around as he raises an eyebrow. soonyoung is shuffling towards him, his own scarf in the male’s hands. oh right, he probably left it back. he reaches out for it, but before he could even do that, soonyoung brings his arms up and wraps the scarf around jihoon's neck. the shorter male freezes in his spot, soonyoung suddenly all too close to him as he could feel his body heat radiating from the taller.

soonyoung double wraps the scarf, tying it carefully as he fixes it a bit on jihoon’s body. “there we go.”

jihoon stands there for a moment, and he blames the cold wind for the hues of pink blooming on his cheeks, clearing his throat as he immediately looks away. “yeah, thanks.”

“hey. jihoon.” soonyoung starts, hesitating for a moment before he opens his mouth again. “look. there’s something i need to tell you.”

jihoon gets a text message just then, from seungkwan, frantically sending multiple text messages at a time. he figures he should ignore it, but the name “hoshi” catches his eye, along with the name soonyoung.

he only reads a few of the messages, before he gets the idea.

soonyoung blinks, glancing at jihoon and to his phone, puzzled.

 

“wait. you’re hoshi?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooohh, jihoon finds out about soonyoung? eye emojis. what will happen now? ;;
> 
> talk to me on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/inuhosh) about soonhoon or svt or anything really!! thanks for reading! ♡
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated. ♡


	7. Chapter 7

_ 25 DAYS _

 

the similarities suddenly all made sense, and jihoon didn’t know how he didn’t realize it sooner. the choreography style, the way he danced and flowed ever so elegantly to the beat of the song; jihoon knew there was something that irked him about hoshi recently. maybe it was because he began to spend more time with soonyoung, actually making the effort to watch the taller male dance, rather than turn away in disgust whenever the two separate groups previously had to share a studio room. jihoon never had any interest in soonyoung prior to the joint union of their groups, solely due to his own internal conflicts. he’s expressed his dislike for the taller male many times, but set aside those differences in order to put on a great performance. so when jihoon started spending time with soonyoung, learning the way he moved and how his body flowed with rhythm and followed along to each beat of the song, he should’ve suspected then when that sense of deja vu settled over him. 

hoshi was soonyoung. soonyoung was hoshi. and jihoon’s more baffled that he couldn’t pick it up sooner. hoshi, the youtuber he idolized and pushed him to continue dancing. the same youtuber whose videos motivated him to strive for the best. but then there’s soonyoung, the dumb kid that was well known throughout the campus; whether it be for his dance or for his likeable personality, soonyoung brought out the jealousy that jihoon never knew he had. soonyoung, the guy he purposefully avoided all throughout freshman year because his smile was too bright and blinding. soonyoung, the talented dancer that made jihoon feel inferior. all in all, these two were the same person, and it was weird how polar opposites they were in jihoon’s perspective.

“look, jihoon.” soonyoung starts, and jihoon could see the shock that washes over the taller male’s expression.

“no. i even  _ talked _ about hoshi to you. you pretended like you didn’t know him all that much, saying you heard about him. but hoshi is…  _ you _ .” jihoon said, blinking his eyes rapidly as the memory suddenly floods back to life in his thoughts. 

“listen, i’m sorry. i just… i didn’t know any better way to come clean about it. and when you mentioned hoshi before, i froze.” soonyoung rambles, in a sorry attempt to try and patch things up quickly. 

“you weren’t my favorite person at first, kwon soonyoung. only recently did i start to find your presence as a friend somewhat comforting. but now…” jihoon starts, voice breaking off, thoughts in a mess as he still couldn’t quite grasp what’s happening.

he turns on his heel, quickly walking away from soonyoung, from hoshi, and from whatever could’ve been.

 

\--

 

“you knew?” jihoon said, about to flip the table at the dining hall they were seated around. he sends a glare towards seungcheol, who cowers behind jeonghan.

“hey hey, now. blame me, i told him not to say anything about it.” jeonghan said defensively, before jihoon could pounce on seungcheol. what a shitty best friend, he thinks to himself, slumping back in his seat as he proceeds to wrap his scarf completely over his face. maybe if he suffocated now, he won’t have to deal with any of this. 

“i only found out like couple weeks ago. and i wasn’t really supposed to say either.” jeonghan continued to confess sheepishly, unraveling the scarf around jihoon’s head, shaking his head when jihoon finally regained his sight of the older. “not everyone knew, to be honest. as you can tell, seungkwan found out and automatically told you.” 

jihoon snorted, throwing his phone onto the table. “yup, that’s for sure. i asked him to come by to tell me how exactly he found out.”

right on cue, seungkwan is bouncing over to them, full of life and spirit, like always. “oh my god.” he says in english, plopping down next to jihoon. “hyung, you didn’t know soonyoung was hoshi? i’m surprised because you guys seemed so close, like i’m still so--” 

seungcheol clears his throat loudly, the sour expression on jihoon’s face growing. he could already tell seungcheol was mouthing something to seungkwan, the realization settling upon seungkwan all at once.

“ _ oh. _ ” seungkwan says bashfully, letting out a stifled laugh as he moved to get up.

“no no.” jihoon said, stopping seungkwan’s actions at once. “how’d you find out?”

seungkwan blinked, seating himself back down as he thinks. “well. i was making you an instagram, hyung. remember? i was trying to follow all the other members, and i found hoshi’s. or soonyoung’s. hm.” he mumbled, shrugging. “either way, i found his account and he wasn’t even following me! i was offended.”

jeonghan snorted, seungcheol sighed, and jihoon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. this was the seungkwan he knew and came to love.

“anyway, i was with chan and seokmin. that’s when i found out. they let it slip, and it was all over from there.” seungkwan said, pursing his lips. “it was chan that knew initially, and seokmin had the big mouth to tell me. and before they could even tell me not to tell anyone else, i was telling you. oops.” 

“ah, seungkwan.” seungcheol said, rubbing his temples as jeonghan just shook his head silently.

“but why is it such a big secret? that you couldn’t even tell me?” jihoon scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “am i the only one who doesn’t know?”

the three shared a quick glance. 

“well, you were the last to find out after me.” seungkwan said reluctantly. “also, chan said no one told me was because i had a big mouth and would tell everyone. like how-” 

they all stared at seungkwan pointedly. 

“right. case closed, i can see why.” seungkwan said, holding his hands up defensively. “that is a good question, though. why not tell jihoon hyung?”

“look. all i know is, soonyoung had his reasons. he was going to tell jihoon soon, but it seems like seungkwan beat him to it.” jeonghan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he rolled his shoulders out of habit.

“no one told me that jihoon hyung didn’t know! honestly, the party last night was dragging, so i fulfilled my duties in creating jihoon hyung an instagram. which, i need to give you the login information.” seungkwan didn’t forget to add, jihoon holding up a thumbs up in response.

“honestly, it’s fine guys. i kind of don’t want to talk to soonyoung at this moment, or ever.” jihoon grumbled, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket. 

“hey, don’t be too hard on him.” seungcheol spoke up from across the table, sipping gingerly on his coffee. “hear him out. i told you from the beginning that soonyoung wasn’t a bad person, and it seemed like you enjoyed his presence a lot more than you’d like to admit recently.”

jihoon could feel his cheeks heat up ever so slightly, rolling his eyes as he pulled his hood over his head. “he lied straight to my face!” 

“for good reasons.” jeonghan spoke up, squeezing jihoon’s shoulder. “talk to him.”

jihoon, being the ever so stubborn guy he is, shook his head. “maybe later, but not now or anytime soon.” 

he quickly stood up, wanting to get away from the rest as he grabbed his jacket and scarf, making a beeline towards the door. 

“but the competition.” seungkwan grimaced, rubbing his cheeks as he looked over worriedly at the two. 

 

\--

 

yes, jihoon’s stubborn. and yes, ignoring his duties and responsibilities as leader was a pretty shitty move on his part. he didn’t attend practice, muted the group chat, and ignored the flooding messages he got from all of his members. he can’t deny the fact that he’s probably just throwing a tantrum, acting like a child as he refuses to see or let anyone into his dorm room. he manages to avoid his members as he goes to class, thankful that he didn’t have any similar classes with the lot of them this semester. jihoon sticks with jooheon and his boyfriend, changkyun he learns, thankful the two allowed him to eat with them during lunch. 

he’s back in his dorm before sunset, sighing as he tosses his backpack somewhere on the floor, too lost in thought to bother where it landed. he knows missing practice for the second day in a row isn’t really setting a great standard for the others, but jihoon just can’t seem to wrap his mind around the idea and fact that hoshi is soonyoung. 

sighing, jihoon rubs his temples as he falls back onto his bed, letting out a groan of frustration. “stupid hoshi, stupid soonyoung.” he mutters under his breathe, letting his eyes fall close.

yes, jihoon admits that he did have a slight dancer crush on hoshi. everything about the male, though he only knew rather little, left him awestruck whenever he watched his videos. they were the force that enabled him to continue dancing and reaching for things he wouldn’t dream possible. starting a dance group and putting himself in the dance community wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t watched hoshi’s videos. though they were just choreographies or dance covers, jihoon found inspiration in them. he would never get tired of watching hoshi’s dance sets, always finding them uniquely different from the many others he uploaded. the way he danced, the way his body reacted to the music, everything was perfect about hoshi; perfection that jihoon strived for.

but now that he knew hoshi and soonyoung were one in the same, he started to realize the similarities, and once everything started to click, jihoon just felt dumb he couldn’t recognize. he knew soonyoung had a talent when it came to dancing, noting how easy it was for soonyoung to pick up a dance. he rides the beat so easily, follows the moves so swiftly, and has a great presence and aura when he dances. jihoon was jealous; a jealousy that was probably the sole reason he didn’t want to befriend the other for the longest time ever. he heard so many great things from his fellow dancers, the overflowing compliments about kwon soonyoung, who made it into one of the top dance groups in seoul. jihoon was surprised the other male didn’t take the position, something that jihoon would’ve easily taken if given the chance. 

soonyoung, the guy who drunkenly squeezed his ass at a party freshmen year. soonyoung, the guy who does a 180 degree change when he dances. soonyoung, the guy who exudes such charisma and attitude when he performs. soonyoung, the annoying headass with a smile that could kill. soonyoung, the guy who was known as hoshi. jihoon still couldn’t believe the revelation, and truth be told, he doesn’t know how to react. he was shocked, surprised, and dumbfounded. soonyoung, the guy who started to nag at his heart whenever his name was brought up. soonyoung, the guy who jihoon started to view in a whole different light to the point that it scared him. but now that he was also known as hoshi, jihoon doesn’t really know how to act around him. if anything, he’s starstruck at the idea that he was dancing alongside  _ the _ hoshi all this time. 

but even now, hoshi and soonyoung are two different entities to him. hoshi, someone he idolized, and soonyoung, someone he unknowingly found comfort in during the past month or two. 

it only dawns on him now the liking he took to soonyoung, and how he rather watch soonyoung dance than hoshi. and that’s how jihoon realizes the feelings he never wanted to spill over. 

“shit.” he mutters, rubbing his eyes as he quickly sits up, grabbing his laptop and quickly going on youtube. he searches for hoshi’s channel, and quickly clicks on that one video he never deleted -- the first video of hoshi jihoon watched.

the ‘holy grail’ choreography threw him through nostalgia, and shit. how did he not realize it sooner? soonyoung taught a workshop couple weeks back, dancing to the exact same song. exact same choreography. everything the same.

quickly scrambling for his phone, he brought up the video he recorded for soonyoung, having tagged along for morale support, playing it almost immediately.

“god dammit, kwon soonyoung.” he mutters, gritting his teeth. was this what the others meant that soonyoung was going to tell him soon? he scoffs, tossing his phone back onto his bed as he closes his laptop shut.

 

\--

 

it’s day three, and the showcase was promptly two days away. jihoon’s considering going to practice, opening the groupchat as he sees the floods of messages. he avoids reading them, closing the app and his phone as he shoves it back into his pocket, quickly making a dash towards his dorm. 

he gets a call just as he’s about to enter the residence building, frowning as it’s from a private number. he decides to ignore it, glancing up to get a face full of chest. jihoon yelps in surprise, jumping back to get a better look at the culprit. mingyu.

“shit.” he groaned, already plotting out a way to escape. but he realizes, soon, he’s trapped. wonwoo sitting nearby, and junhui behind him. the tallest members. the jihoon curses his short height, rubbing his palms against his eyes.

“okay, okay. you caught me.” he shouts, sending glares at them. 

“c’mon hyung, i didn’t know you were this irresponsible.” mingyu said, a pout on his lips as he shook his head. though the words stung, mingyu’s cute actions made up for it. 

“yeah, i get it. we didn’t tell you, and you probably feel betrayed. but soonyoung made us promise not to say.” junhui spoke up, patting jihoon’s head. wonwoo nodded, having strolled over in the meantime. jihoon suddenly felt like he was boxed in with the three standing around him, sighing as he squeezed his way out. 

“and i’m sorry i’ve been super shitty. i was planning on coming to practice tonight, so.” jihoon frowned, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “i just, still don’t want to talk to soonyoung.”

“why? maybe it’s better if you hear him out.” wonwoo suggested, shrugging as he walked over and threw his arm over jihoon’s shoulder. “c’mon, let’s go grab lunch.”

“are you buying?”

“nah, mingyu is.” wonwoo smirks, dragging jihoon away from a whining mingyu following after, with junhui consoling him.

 

\--

 

jihoon heads to the dance studio thirty minutes earlier, frowning as he notes the door is locked. of course. that just means he needs to wait for kwon soonyoung, who’s always granted a key, to come and open it. he sighs, resting his head against the door, pressing his forehead against the small, square paneled glass. 

there’s a click, and the door swings upon, causing him to stumble forward and into someone. 

“what in the--” he starts, quick to catch himself before he fully falls into the person in front of him. jihoon looks up immediately, only to come face to face with soonyoung.  _ of course _ . 

he moves away almost as quickly as he fell, sidestepping the taller male as he shuffles into the studio. he remembers he realization that dawned on him before, and tries to shake the thought away. a word isn’t exchanged between the two, much to jihoon’s relief, as he tosses his bag on the floor. just because he didn’t go to practice, doesn’t mean he didn’t go over the choreography by himself in his room. placing his earphones in, he starts to practice the first song for the showcase, counting down the steps following each beat, trying his best to concentrate. it didn’t help at all that he could see kwon soonyoung from the corner of his eye, watching him. 

he misses a step in the choreography as a result, tripping and falling on his butt.  jihoon lets out a yelp of surprise, grimacing at the pain as he curses under his breathe. god dammit, kwon soonyoung. he sees the other standing up almost immediately from his spot, and he can tell soonyoung wants to go over to him. but he doesn’t. jihoon stands up, brushing at his sweats, because these floors were never the cleanest.

soonyoung clears his throat, loud enough for jihoon to hear past the music, causing him to turn towards his direction. they lock eyes for a moment, jihoon slipping the earphone out as he raises an eyebrow. 

“i’m sorry.” the taller male speaks up, shoving his hands into his pants pocket. “for not telling you. about… hoshi. i know i should’ve the moment you brought him up, but i was scared if you figured out i was him, you’d either treat me differently, or start to dislike hoshi.”

“honestly, i tried keeping it a secret from everyone. slowly, one by one they found out. for one thing, everyone in shining diamonds knew. but slowly everyone in andromeda started to figure out. and it wasn’t because they watched my videos or anything, it’s because people have big mouths.” soonyoung continues, smiling bashfully as he kicks at the ground. 

“i know you have every right to feel betrayed. and you have every right to be upset, but i just wanted you to know i’m sorry. you only agreed to combining our groups because you knew korea wave was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. but i really hope, once this is all done and you aren’t forced to talk and dance with me, that you might want to continue that regardless.” soonyoung concludes, voice fading out towards the end, as though he was second guessing his words. 

jihoon blinked, standing there as he tried to grasp what soonyoung said. it was all rushed, and it almost seemed like a confession. just the thought of that made his heart skip a beat in an unpleasant way. but before he could even reply, wonwoo, junhui and the rest of the lot began to slowly file in.

“oh! jihoon, look who finally decided to show up.” seungcheol says, moving to put jihoon in a chokehold.

“wha- yah! choi seungcheol, let go!” jihoon yelps, attempting to kick the taller.

“hyung, welcome back!” vernon exclaims, followed by the rest of the members chiming in.

jihoon missed this, the atmosphere when he was with the others. how easy it was to laugh and to act like himself. from the corner of his eye, he can see soonyoung from a distance. pushing aside their differences, he figures it’s best to just let it go.

 

\--

 

letting it go isn’t as easy as it seems. jihoon’s much more awkward around soonyoung, once the anger and pettiness washed away. maybe because he realizes he’s hoshi, and he’s always had so many questions for the latter. one being to learn one of his dances from hoshi himself. however, weirdly enough, he already has, from soonyoung. 

it’s the day of the showcase, and the six of them are getting ready to head out. joshua was driving one car, while seungcheol was driving the other. with limited seatings, not everyone could attend the showing.

“we’ll watch the livestream.” seokmin waved, nodding his head. “make us proud.”

mingyu and wonwoo nodded along, holding up their thumbs up and waving as they watched the cars pull away. 

“try recording it for us too!” jihoon yells out the window as the car began driving, waving his friends goodbye.

he rolls the windows up, sitting back in his seat as he adjusts his seatbelt. unfortunately, with times like this, he’d call shotgun for the passenger's seat. however, being that seungcheol was driving, jeonghan was given automatic rights to it. not like he was complaining, but that meant he was stuck next to soonyoung. the feeling he felt five days before dissipated into thin air, but there was unspoken words between the two that had to be settled. they just never found the time. 

seungkwan was seated next to soonyoung, who was right in the middle, peering his head from behind the tallest to look at jihoon.

“i made a poster for you! i’m in charge of cheering for you.” seungkwan grins, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

jihoon chuckles, because although seungkwan could be naggy, he was a cute dongsaeng. “thanks, boo. i appreciate it.”

“anytime for you! jeonghan’s cheering for vernon and dino, seungcheol is cheering for jun and the8, and joshua will be cheering for you, soonyoung!” seungkwan explains, nodding his head. “it’s just a showcase, but we’re here to support!”

soonyoung snorts, pinching seungkwan’s cheek. “aigo, what supportive members we have.”

“yah, choi seungcheol. what kind of best friend doesn’t cheer for their own best friend?” jihoon nags, raising an eyebrow as seungcheol glances at him from his backview mirror.

“listen, shorty. seungkwan offered, so i let him.” seungcheol answers, eyes trailing back towards the road. “he feels ba--”

jeonghan coughs rather loudly right on time, clearing his throat as he shoots a glare at seungcheol. jihoon shifts a bit in his seat, soonyoung awkwardly letting out a laugh.

oh boy.

 

\--

 

makeup was something jihoon never enjoyed. with a showcase and competition this big, the university offered couple of makeup artists to help the performers look as best as possible. eyeliner to enhance their eyes, bb cream to make their skin shine, and everything else that jihoon knew little to nothing about. he just sits there and allow the professionals to do what they do best.

it’s not like it’s his first time, plus the makeup application isn’t too heavy on his skin. he moves off from the seat, thanking the person as he glances into the mirror. meh. he looks the same, honestly, just some small, minor differences. he sighs, shaking off his nerves as he shuffles through the crowd, trying to find the rest of his group. he spots junhui’s blonde from far away, snorting as he quickly uses that beckon of “light” to guide him home. 

once they all regrouped, they went off to find someplace quiet to practice once more before the official show began. they went over the set couple times, before they promptly call it quits at the five minute mark before the start of the competition.

they return to the waiting area, sitting around as they wait for their turn. they were the third to perform, and the first group were already done, filing back in as the second group gets ready to perform. jihoon exhales loudly, feeling last minute nerves kick in, his adrenaline rushing through his body as he stands up to practice the moves quickly as he waits. 

“hey, ji?” he hears from behind him, all too close. he jumps a bit, quickly looking back to find soonyoung right beside him.

“oh, shit. you scared me.” jihoon mumbles, letting out a breathless laugh. “but yeah, what’s up?”

“i..” the taller male starts, pursing his lips. jihoon blinks, staring up at the male, and he forgot just how nice soonyoung looked with makeup on. the slight pink tint on his lips, and the way the eyeliner made his eyes look fierce, yet soft at the same time. bless makeup. 

“i was wondering, if we’re.. okay?” soonyoung continued, snapping jihoon out of his thoughts. “we can talk more about the whole.. hoshi thing. but for now… friends?” 

jihoon stared at the taller blankly for a moment. although he tells himself how much he may have disliked soonyoung, seungcheol was right -- soonyoung wasn’t a bad person at all. soonyoung had his reasons, and jihoon wasn’t ready to cut soonyoung from his life -- he doesn’t think he ever will. setting aside petty feelings, jihoon thinks this will be for the best. 

“we were friends?” jihoon questions in a playful manner, a small smile pulling on his lips as he raises an eyebrow. 

soonyoung blinks, taken aback at jihoon’s teasing response, clearly not expecting that reply from the shorter. “wha-”

“yes, idiot. friends.” jihoon snorts, rolling his eyes playfully. “i expect a whole explanation from you later, kwon soonyoung.” 

it takes soonyoung a bit for him to process what just happened, and when he does, he’s smiling from ear to ear, a smile jihoon, as much as he wouldn’t like to admit, missed. “yessir!” soonyoung laughs, saluting the shorter male playfully, causing jihoon to chuckle as a result. 

“are you ready? it’s our first time performing as a combined group.” jihoon asked after a moment of silence between the two, his thoughts drowned out by the loud chatter of everyone around him, shoving his hands into his pocket. 

“i’m as ready as i could be. pretty excited, but nervous at the same time?” the taller male mumbles, chewing in his bottom lip, a habit, jihoon learned, when soonyoung was nervous. jihoon nodded in response. 

“shining andromeda, you guys are next!” yelled one of the stage workers. 

“oh shit oh shit!” vernon yells as he bounces over to the two, hyped as ever. “hyungs, we’re up!” 

jihoon chuckled, nodding. “well, you guys ready?” chan, junhui and minghao followed alongside as they formed a small circle amongst each other.

“pep talk before we go up?” junhui suggested, putting their hands together in the middle.

jihoon glanced at soonyoung. “you do the honors.”

soonyoung snorted, pursing his lips as he clears his throat. “alright guys, you ready?” he yells out, voice filled with charisma and spirit. “let’s show them what shining andromeda is all about! even if we’re just showcasing, let’s have the crowd up and on their feet, wishing we were competing!”

“hell yeah!” chan shouted, trying to hype up the mood, as the others woop in response.

jihoon clears his throat. “guys, let’s kick some ass.”    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all is well, and a realization dawns on jihoon!! i finished this like a week after posting chapter 6, but finals kept me from uploading it aaaaah
> 
> talk to me on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/inuhosh) about soonhoon or svt or anything really!! thanks for reading! ♡
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated. ♡


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